(秋田駒ヶ岳) Akita-komagatake Hike

A place that was never on my radar, but since there's the JR Welcome Pass, I figured I might as well go visit.

Budget: JPY (~USD)

Hike Date / Difficulty (Elevation: 1,637m / 5,371ft)

2020
Difficulty: 2 out of 5
Route below is around 16.0kilometers, with an elevation change of ▲960m/ ▽1,494m
PDF Map Link

When to Go
Anytime during the year!

Special Notes

Trailheads. There are quite a couple, which you can see in the map here, but for the purposes of this blog post I'll cover the closest to the summit, and the famous onsen - Nyuutou (or Nyuto) Onsen.

Hachigoume (八合目). From here, the summit is only an hour and a half away. Access:

Train, Morioka Station to Tazawako Station (田沢湖駅). Any train is doable, but this is the earliest I can find from a major city (Akita vs Morioka)
Bus, Tazawako Station (田沢湖駅) to Hachigoume (八合目). Website here, look for "駒ヶ岳線". Buses run every weekend and holiday from June to October, everyday from June 21 to August 19. Depending on the weather, there is a chance that the bus will be cancelled for the day. When buses are running, private cars are NOT allowed to park.

Nyuto Onsen (乳頭温泉). From here, the summit is only an hour and a half away. Access:

Train, Morioka Station to Tazawako Station (田沢湖駅). Any train is doable, but this is the earliest I can find from a major city (Akita vs Morioka)
Bus, Tazawako Station (田沢湖駅) to Nyuto Onsen (乳頭温泉). Website here, look for "乳頭線". Since this goes to a famous onsen, I bet this runs even in winter. But definitely check the website for updated information. Navitime is also pretty updated (To Nyuto Onsen / From Nyuto Onsen). The bus schedule below has quite a lot of cancelled trips due to covid19, but I assume it'll be back to normal from 2021. Fare is JPY840 one way.

Itinerary
Friday

Saturday

Dayhike

The Adventure Log.