Efforts Underway to Restore Mt. Kinpu Trail

By Tomoyuki Momii / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

13:23 JST, January 5, 2025

Mt. Kinpu, a 2,599-meter high mountain that straddles Yamanashi and Nagano Prefectures, is known as one of Japan’s “100 famous mountains.” An old trail called the Mitakekodo runs over the mountain.

Although the trail once thrived as a site for Shugendo, an ascetic discipline that combines mountain worship and Buddhism, the number of people using the trail has dropped sharply due to factors including the opening of other paths up the mountain. As a result, the forest road that leads to the old trail has fallen into disrepair.

However, there is a growing movement to bring back the old trail’s previous glory. The city of Kofu, where the Yamanashi side of the mountain sits, has begun working with private companies on trail maintenance projects in hopes of bringing in more visitors and revitalizing the whole area.

Leading to Mt. Kinpu from Kofu, the Mitakekodo was used by mountain priests from ancient times to the Middle Ages as the primary approach to the main building of Kanazakura Shrine. It includes landmarks like Suishotoge pass, and it is known to offer spectacular views of Mt. Fuji.

However, the number of climbers who use the trail has decreased severely in recent years with the opening of more accessible routes to the summit. According to statistical data from YAMAP, a mountain map app, the route is used by only about 80 people annually, making it a kind of “ghost trail.”

Local volunteers who love the Mitakekodo worked to find a way to revitalize the trail. As a result, in December 2023, Kofu city and several other parties, including YAMAP Inc. (the Fukuoka-based company that operates the YAMAP app) and an association of Mt. Kinpu climbing enthusiasts consisting of local guides and outdoor shops, signed an agreement to work together to restore the old trail.

Improving the forest road that leads to the old trail was key, as it would make the trailhead easier to access by car.

Funds were raised through a crowdfunding campaign that ran from December 2023 to the end of last January. Over ¥6 million was raised, and work was carried out from August to September 2024 on a roughly 2.7-kilometer section of road that leads to the upper part of the old trail. This section is part of a stretch of road, 6.8 kilometers in total, which leads from a gate in the forest road to the last automobile-accessible point, and which had previously been closed to traffic.

Previously, deep wheel ruts had been left in the forest road, allowing rainwater to collect and erode its surface. During the new work, the road’s surface was compacted with a roller and gravel was laid on top of it.

Additionally, ditches were constructed for rain to flow into, preventing future erosion. A parking area was created which could accommodate approximately 20 cars, and portable toilets were set up near the trailhead. Hiking from the new parking area to the summit and back takes about eight hours, cutting down the round-trip time by about two hours.

In October, an opening ceremony for the forest road was held at Kofu city hall. “This is a significant step toward returning the once-prosperous Mitakekodo to its former glory,” Mayor Yuichi Higuchi said at the ceremony.

“I think many people fundamentally didn’t know the old trail,” said Hitoshi Yanagisawa, the chairman of the association of Mt. Kinpu climbing enthusiasts. “I want people to experience the real route at least once. I also want to work on developing hiking trails where everyone can walk with safety and peace of mind.”