(金峰山) Mt. Kinpu Hike

If you are pushing for Mt. Kinpu for a dayhike, you need to have a car. Otherwise, you better a) be hiking on a weekend and b) beat the Japanese expected time by at least an hour. Good luck!

For other normal beings, I wrote the itinerary for an overnight trip in a separate post to be done with Mt. Mizugaki, another hyakumeizan.

Budget: JPY9,140 (~98USD) from Tokyo

• JPY2,510. Train, Nakano Station to Nirasaki Station.
• JPY2,060. Bus, Nirasaki Station to Mizugaki-sansou.
• JPY2,060. Bus, Mizugaki-sansou to Nirasaki Station.
• JPY2,510. Train, Nirasaki Station to Nakano Station.

Hike Date / Difficulty (Elevation: 2,599m / 8,527ft)

• Target: 2020
• Difficulty: 3 out of 5
• Route below is around 12.1kilometers, with an elevation change of ▲1,482m/ ▽1,477m (8h50m).
• Map Link. You can backtrail or do a loop (both provided in link). For the time below, I used the backtrail option, on the assumption that you'll try to do a dayhike, and ONLY feasible for weekends when there is a bus running.
• Highly recommended that you do this with Mt. Mizugaki (瑞牆山). Here's the itinerary.

When to Go
Buses are only running from April to November.

Special Notes

• Weather check : English / Japanese
• Trailhead
• Mizugaki Sanso (瑞牆山荘). At elevation of 1,520meters, this is the main trailhead of Kinpu and Mizugaki. Google maps pin.

Bus schedule below:

Itinerary

• 05:50am. Train from Nakano Station at Nirasaki Station. Transfer at 6:29am at Hachioji Station, JPY2,510. If you are willing to pay JPY4,220, you can take the express train and arrive at 08:36am.
• 08:28am. Arrival at Nirasaki Station.
• 08:50am. Take the bus at Nirasaki Station to Mizugaki-sansou.
• 10:02am. Arrival at Mizugaki-sansou.
• 10:50am. ETA: camp area, Fujimidaira-goya (富士見平小屋).
• 02:20pm. ETA: Mt. Kinpu (金峰山) Summit
• 05:10pm. ETA: Camp area, Fujimidaira-goya (富士見平小屋).
• 05:50pm. ETA: bus stop, Mizugaki-sansou
• 04:30pm. Bus, Mizugaki-sansou to Nirasaki Station.
• *Even with no breaks, your ETA will be 5:50pm, which means you need to beat the Japanese time by an hour and a half to make this trip feasible for a dayhike.

Actual Log

• 05:50am. Train fro