Yakedake 2455m in winter is an intermediate hike which is accessible from Nakanoyu Onsen. The hike has beautiful views from the Northern Alps and is only exposed at the top. Even though I would classify this as less risky than other winter hikes, you'll still need crampons and axe. The way up is steep.
⏲︎ Time: 6-7h
✎ Kanji: 焼岳
⚲ Location: Nagano
↔ Distance: 7km
✮ Difficulty: Intermediate
ᨒ Elevation Gain: 967m
☀ Dayhike
☉ Snow: October
to June
Access
Car
Park at Nakanoyu Onsen, you need to call them beforehand and make a reservation for the parking spot (800¥). The gate will probably be closed but can be opened by hand.
Public Transportation
Take the bus from Hirayu Onsen and get off at Nakanoyu Onsen. It's still about an hour walk to the trailhead from the bus stop.
Trail description
The trail starts up the road behind the Onsen, you can walk through the forest and don't have to walk along the road.
The official trailhead has a big sign with map etc.
The first 1:30h are through the forest and nothing special. Once you get out into the open and after a short flat section, the steep ascent begins. In winter you'll go up along the ridge, instead of the switchbacks of the summer trail. Make sure you don't follow the summer trail as it's avalanche prone. Also in winter people normally only climb the south peak of Yakedake (in summer you climb the north peak).
Snow was pretty deep when we went, which made it quite tiring. Also by the time we reached the peak, the weather had changed and we had strong winds and zero views. We only stayed for a couple of minutes and made our way down again.
Yakedake like other mountains in winter has an avalanche risk, so check the avalanche forecast, bring the right equipment and be prepared for quick weather changes.
I went there on Feb 12 and the snow was wayyy to deep. I came with crampons and it’s impossible to reach the summit in Time. I highly recommend using snowshoes if you don’t wan the snow going up your arse (the snow was more than a meter high). Also be really careful of tree wells because you start in a forest. Also you need according to a sign about 3.5h to the summit from the onsen. Add another 1.5h-2h for the way between the bus stop and onsen and like 2.5h for the descent = ca. 7:30h (only if the conditions are good and no break included) The indicated 6 hours are quite misleading if you actually go ther…
Is it possible to do this in a day by using buses. The bus arrives at 9:13 and the last bus leaves at 18:15..
In wasn’t sure if the time you indicated was from the trailhead or from the bus stop.if it is from the trailhead then I would need to add two more hours to the hike.