(美ヶ原) Utsukushigahara Hike

I'm hard pressed to call this a hike, but it's part of the hyakumeizan, so...

Budget: JPY10,140 (~USD95)

• JPY4,070. Train, Tokyo to Matsumoto Station.
• JPY4,070. Train, Matsumoto Station to Tokyo Station.
• JPY2,000. Bus, Matsumoto Station <> Nature Center.

Hike Date / Difficulty (Elevation: 2,034m / 6,673ft)

• July 22, 2021
• Difficulty: 1 out of 5.
• Route below is around 3.2kilometers, with an elevation change of ▲142m/ ▽148m
• Map Link

When to Go
If you have a car, anytime during the year. Otherwise, buses seem to run from early June to mid-September.

Special Notes

• Weather forecast: Japanese.
• Highest point is Ougatou (王ヶ頭)
• Mountain huts. Only paid ones (JPY13,000 per head, requires 4 people), and camping available at JPY1,000 per head. 
• Ougatou Hotel (王ヶ頭ホテル). A very expensive one that is about JPY20,000 minimum per person per night. It'll pick you up Matsumoto Station (and drop you off), and bring you to the hotel, which is about ten meters away from the summit. They also offer snowshoeing trips at about JPY26,000 per person. 
• Trailheads. 
• Utsukushigahara Nature Center (美ヶ原自然保護センター). 
• Access. Not the most accessible, but also not impossible.
• Train, Tokyo to Matsumoto Station.
• Limited express. JPY6,310, 194 minutes. Earliest to get there is 09:42am.
• Local train. JPY4,070, 285 minutes one way. Earliest to get there is 10:17am.
• Bus, Matsumoto Station to Nature Center. Website here (govt site) or here (location site). JPY1,000, 75 minutes one way, two buses a day.
• Bus only runs June to September. Only cash is accepted. 

Bus Schedule, Matsumoto Station to/from Utsukushi-ga-hara Nature Center

Itinerary

• 08:15am. Bus, Matsumoto Station to Nature Center.
• 09:30am. Start hike.
• 09:50am. ETA: Summit.
• 10:26am. Back at Nature Center.

Actual Log

• 06:20am. Train, Tokyo to Matsumoto Station. I was using the Seishun18 ticket, and boy there where plenty of tight transfers. 
• 12:14pm. Arrived at Matsumoto Station, went straight for lunch. Went back to Matsumoto Station, exited via  West Exit (アルプス口(西口)). Down the stairs, turned left to the only bus stop. Waited for the bus. 
• 01:15pm. Not a bus, a shuttle. Shuttle, Matsumoto Station to Nature Center. Paid upon boarding, JPY1,000, cash only. 
• 02:31pm. Arrived at the Nature Center. Started hike following the main road. Seven minutes later there was a fork, left road goes up, right continues the rough road. I turned left. 
• 02:58pm. Arrived at the hotel, which sells ice cream in that heat. So I went in, bought ice cream. The trail to summit is to the right of the hotel/cafe entrance (while facing the hotel). 
• 03:09pm. Arrived at the summit, flew my drone, continued on to Ougahana (王ヶ鼻).
• 03:40pm. Arrived at  Ougahana (王ヶ鼻). Flew my drone again. Retraced my steps back, and turned left at the second fork. 
• 04:20pm. Arrived back at the nature center. 
• 04:30pm. Bus, Nature Center to Matsumoto. 
• 05:50pm. Arrived at Matsumoto Station, looked for where to buy my Norikura tickets, had dinner, and had to find my hostel.  

Lunch near Chino Station. Apparently that fried chicken is a Matsumoto delicacy. It was... meh. 

Walking towards the West Exit. 

The bus stop. 

Inside the shuttle. 

Driving towards the trailhead. 

Bus drop off. 

Walked towards the rough road. 

At this point there's a fork - took the left path going up. 

First part of the ascent. It remained fairly not-steep. 

Summit! Oh, no, not yet. The's a nice hotel up here though, and there is a shuttle going to the hotel. 

The summit is to the right. 

But some ice cream first. 

Here's the summit marker, about 30 meters from the hotel? 

Ougahana marker. 

With gorgeous views. 

Views on my way back. 

Almost back at the trailhead. 

The bus stop returning to Matsumoto Station is to the left of the center - do you see the shuttle?