Hikes in Japan: The Mt. Minamiyama Trail (南山 コース)

BASIC INFORMATION

• Name: The Mt. Minamiyama Trail (南山 コース)
• Location: Aikawa, Japan
• Distance: 4.5 miles (7.2 km)
• Max Elevation: 1,900 feet (579 m)
• Elevation Gain: 1,574 feet (480 m)
• Time: 2-3 hours
• Difficulty: Medium
• More Information: 30 Day Hikes Near Tokyo

Google Earth Map of the Trail

Elevation Map of the Trail

Directions

The hike to the summit of Mt. Minamiyama begins at Aikawa Park which is located on the slopes of the Tanzawa Mountains and adjacent to the Miyagase Dam in Japan’s Kanagawa Prefecture.  There are buses that run to the park, but the easiest way to access the park is to drive there.

Parking

I have been to Aikawa Park many times and each time I have had no issues finding parking because of how big the parking is.  Even on busy summer weekends there are no issues with finding parking.  It does cost however 500 yen to use the parking lot.

Narrative

My favorite park in Kanagawa prefecture is Aikawa Park located one the slopes of the scenic Tanzawa Mountains.  I have taken my kids here many times to play in the awesome playground there and to just explore the easy walking trails in the park.  The park also serves as the trailhead to a longer hike up Mt. Minamiyama.  In the Japanese language “Minamiyama” means southern mountain which the peak probably got this name from being south of the adjacent Lake Miyagase.  The trail up this mountain begins by first walking through Aikawa Park:

After walking passed the park’s large visitor center building I proceeded to walk up the staircase that leads through a hillside garden.  In the spring and summer these gardens are quite beautiful:

This hill would be the first of many steps I would walk up on this hike:

Here is a look back at the park’s visitor center and fountain in front of it from the hillside:

From the top of the staircase I could see the suspension bridge that I next needed to cross:

The suspension bridge sways a little bit when crossing it, but it is very solidly built:

Here is a view of the bridge from the opposite side:

After crossing the bridge I then ascended up some more steps to reach the top of another hill:

Here is the view from the hill looking back at the suspension bridge and the hill I was just on:

From this hill I made a left and followed the paved path up towards a road:

This road if followed leads to the top of the dam.  Just a short distance up the road there is a sign in Japanese kanji 南山 which points towards the Mt. Minamiyama trailhead:

The trailhead on the right side of the road, is very noticeable, and can’t be missed:

The trailhead has a large signboard that shows the many trails in this area for those looking for even longer hikes:

The trailhead also had a sign that warned about leaches that frequent these mountains during the warmer months.  Along the trail there is actually bottles of anti-leach spray that the park’s department stocks that hikers can use.  These leaches is why I decided to hike this trail during the colder month of February so I did not have to worry about them.  From the trailhead I immediately began ascending up multiple series of staircases:

Even when there wasn’t staircases to ascend, the trail continued to steeply gain elevation:

There are a few benches along the trail for hikers to take a break at before ascending more staircases:

The trail will eventually come to an intersection.  Just continue to follow the trail heading upwards because taking the other trail leads back to Aikawa Park.  I made sure to check the trail marker for the kanji for Mt. Minamiyama (南山) to ensure I was going the right direction:

Of course there were more staircases to ascend:

Soon I reached the power line tower on the top of the ridgeline:

Due to the tower and surrounding trees the view from the ridgeline was limited.  The best view available was looking back towards the Tokyo area:

There was also a obscured view looking towards the Tanzawa Mountains:

This power line tower was another major trail intersection.  The trail marker said that Mt. Minamiyama was only 1.6 kilometers away:

From the tower I followed the trail a short distance to a covered picnic area:

On a warmer day this would have been a nice place to sit down and have lunch:

A short distance from the picnic area I reached a viewpoint:

This is not the summit of Mt. Minamiyama, but it still offered really good view of Lake Miyagase down below:

From the viewpoint I decided to deploy my DJI Mini Pro 3 drone to get some better pictures of Lake Miyagase:

I was also able to get a good picture of the Miyagase Dam:

Here is a panorama picture I took of the view using my drone:

After flying my drone for a short time, I then proceeded to hike the next half kilometer over to Mt. Minamiyama:

The trail was a fairly easy walk along the ridgeline:

Along the way there was another trail intersection which had a sign warning hikers that only forest workers can use the trail that branches off to the left.  So make sure not to follow this trail:

Before reaching the summit of Mt. Minamiyama there is a short rocky area with a chain installed to help hikers ascend it.  I did not really need it for the ascent, but I actually found the chain very helpful during the descent because this rocky area was slick with small rocks and mud:

I had to ascend one last staircase to reach the summit:

The clearing on the summit of Mt. Minamiyama is quite large, but was an absolute muddy mess the day I visited because of the snow melting from the recent snowstorm:

Here is the summit marker on Mt. Minamiyama:

The summit had a better view of the area than the prior lookout, so it is worth the additional distance to hike over there:

I took my drone out for another flight to capture the below picture of Mt. Minamiyama.  Right below the summit I could see some structure with some kind of tower shaped like a giant Christmas tree:

I have no idea what the tower is used for, but I could not find any trail that descends down to it from the summit.  After spending a short time on the summit I decided to follow the trail signs for an additional half mile to the Mt. Minamiyama campground:

The trail there follows the ridgeline through a dense forest:

I had to further gain elevation to access the campground and the dense forest provided enough shade to hinder the melting of snow on the ground:

I had another set of stairs I had to ascend, this time in the snow to access the campground:

Just below the campground summit is this small Shinto shrine:

When I reached the Minamiyama Campground I found it to be much larger than what I was expecting; there is even a restroom there, but was closed for the winter:

This campground is also called Gongendaira (権現平) and interestingly enough I found that this hill was actually higher in elevation than Mt. Minamiyama; so for anyone that wants to reach the highest point on this trail this is it.  I next walked over to the viewpoint which had a nice view of Lake Miyagase.  Additionally directly across from me I could see the summits of Mt. Bukkasan and Mt. Takatori which are both great hikes that I recommend:

From the lookout I decided to deploy my DJI Mini Pro 3 drone to get some more aerial footage of the area.  The below photo shows how large the campground area is:

This next photo shows my drone taking a picture looking back at Gongendaira where the lookout can be seen on the top of the mountain:

Further out in the distance from Mt. Bukkasan and Mt. Takatori is the pyramid shaped Mt. Oyama which is a very popular hiking destination for people in the Tokyo region:

This next picture shows the Miyagase Dam with the Tokyo region visible in the distance:

This next picture is a panorama I took using my drone of Lake Miyagase and the surrounding mountains:

Here is the view looking west deeper into the snow covered Tanzawa Mountains:

These next couple of pictures show the view looking in a northwesterly direction:

In the distance I could even see the series of mountains thad lead between Mt. Jinba and Mt. Takao which is a popular long distance hiking course:

Here is an even wider panorama view of the area I took using my drone:

After flying my drone for about 30 minutes I landed it and packed it up in order to begin my hike back down the mountain.  When I walked back to the main campground area I found that it is a major intersection for other trails in the area.  For example hikers can continue down the trail towards Torihara Park which is 2.3 kilometers away or return to Aikawa Park which is 3.2 kilometers away:

I decided to turn around and head back to Aikawa Park before it closes at 5:00 PM.  Since most of the trail was all down hill and I decided to jog down various sections of the trail; I made it back to the park in less than an hour.  I then proceeded to walk through the park and back to the parking lot; easily make it to my car with plenty of time to spare before the park’s 5:00 PM closing thus ending my hike.

Conclusion

The hike up Mt. Minamiyama is good hike for those looking for a moderately challenging trail in the Tokyo region.  It’s 4.5 mile round trip distance with over 1,500 feet in elevation gain will definitely work up a sweat for most hikers.  The trail has multiple lookouts that features expansive views of Lake Miyagase and the Tanzawa Mountains that make this hike worth the effort.  Just remember to take precautions against the leaches that frequent this trail in the warmer months by wearing pants and bug spray to deter them.