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Hokendake and Kisokomagatake | A Two-Day Traverse of the Central Alps from Senjojiki Cirque

2024.09.24

You step out of the ropeway station and a glacial cirque opens up in front of you: Senjojiki. Above it rises a sharp rock peak — Hokendake (2,931 m), one of the great mountains of Japan's Central Alps. This trip took on that rock ridge, then continued the following day to Kisokomagatake (2,956 m), the highest peak in the range, over two days.

This report is for anyone thinking about an intermediate-and-above route with chained rock sections. It's a mountain I'd wanted for a while — we'd given up on it around Golden Week because of the snow and waited for conditions to settle. I set off wondering whether Hokendake was within my ability, and precisely because of that, the views meant more. Below: the scale of the Senjojiki cirque from the air, the tension of the rock, and practical notes on access, difficulty and kit.

There's a separate post on the beginner-friendly hike that goes only from Senjojiki to Kisokomagatake. Think of this one as that route with the rock ridge of Hokendake added — a version with more bite.

Route summary (two days, Central Alps traverse)

• Area: the Central Alps (Kiso mountain range, Nagano Prefecture)
• Main peaks: Hokendake (2,931 m); Kisokomagatake (2,956 m — highest in the Central Alps and one of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains)
• Day 1: express bus from Shinjuku, Tokyo → Komagatake Ropeway → Senjojiki cirque (Senjojiki Station, about 2,612 m) → Hatchozaka → Nokkoshi-Jodo → Hoken Sanso hut (overnight), with an out-and-back to Hokendake
• Day 2: Hoken Sanso → Nakadake → Kisokomagatake → Inamaedake → down Hatchozaka → Senjojiki Station
• The key to the access: the Komagatake Ropeway takes you straight to 2,612 m at Senjojiki
• Difficulty: wandering the cirque and the ridge walk to Kisokomagatake are relatively gentle, but Hokendake is a run of chains and steeply dropping rock, closer to advanced. A helmet and careful movement are essential

You can leave your pack at the hut and do Hokendake unencumbered, which keeps the physical demand down. The difficult ground is still difficult, though. That section was the heart of this trip.

Senjojiki cirque — another world you reach without walking

We took an express bus from the Shinjuku bus terminal to the foot of the Central Alps, then a local bus and the Komagatake Ropeway, and arrived at Senjojiki Station at 2,612 m in what felt like no time. This is the highest ropeway station in Japan. A few hours from the noise of the city, and you've been teleported above the clouds.

The first thing I said, stepping out of the station, was "this is unbelievable." I don't think we'd walked a hundred paces that day, and the view was already there. Scenery that would normally cost you hours of climbing, available almost without walking — that's the slightly unfair appeal of Senjojiki.

A cirque is a bowl-shaped hollow carved into a mountainside by a glacier, here during the ice age around 20,000 years ago. The name Senjojiki is said to come from the idea that you could lay a thousand tatami mats across it. It's exactly that: a vast hollow filled in summer with alpine flowers, and at this time of year with clear air and the contrast of bare rock. In the video we captured the whole landform with the drone. Standing at the bottom of the bowl you can't grasp the scale of a cirque, or how tiny the people scattered across it look — that really is worth seeing from the air.

The climb up Hatchozaka — where hiking properly begins

At the junction where the cirque's walkway ends, the mood changes completely. Beyond it you need real hiking equipment, and in front of you rises Hatchozaka, a steep zigzag up to the ridge.

Looking up, I could see the hikers ahead of us strung out in a line on the switchbacks. When cloud came over, the air turned cold and the altitude became something you felt on your skin. Rough, rocky trail, one step of height at a time — this is where fitness matters. I was out of breath and still saying "beautiful" out loud each time I turned around and found the cirque another notch smaller below us.

Top out on Hatchozaka and you emerge onto Nokkoshi-Jodo (about 2,858 m), a flat area on the ridge. We got there slightly ahead of the standard time, which made it sweeter. Hoken Sanso stands here, the rock peak of Hokendake rises directly ahead, and the peaks of the Central Alps stack up in layers all around. It's the kind of place where you keep stopping because it doesn't stop being beautiful.

The heart of it: the rock ridge of Hokendake, and a Brocken spectre

We left our packs at Hoken Sanso, our hut for the night, and set off for the day's real objective — Hokendake (2,931 m). Even without a pack, this is a section that demands your attention. Helmets on, hands on the chains, and up the steeply dropping rock using three points of contact.

We started in thick white mist. No visibility takes the edge off the exposure, but it meant concentrating hard on every placement. Grip the rock, take the chain, pull yourself up slowly — and gradually the sky turned blue and the cloud pulled away. That progression, from mist into blue sky, gave Hokendake a real sense of drama.

On the way up we also met a Brocken spectre, which needs the right conditions to appear. It's an optical phenomenon where your own shadow is cast large onto mist or cloud behind you, ringed by a halo of rainbow light. You see it in high, open places with the sun behind you. Watching my own shadow outlined by a rainbow loosened the tension considerably.

The summit itself, once we got there, is a very quiet place. There's no grand summit marker — the top of the rock simply is the high point. "Is that it?" is an honest first reaction, but the plainness leaves the feeling of having got there with your own hands and feet all the more intact. Not spectacle, but the satisfaction of having climbed it. That's the top of Hokendake.

Day 2 — over Nakadake to Kisokomagatake

After a night at Hoken Sanso, day two headed for the highest peak in the range. From Nokkoshi-Jodo we crossed Nakadake (2,925 m) and followed a gentle ridge to the summit of Kisokomagatake (2,956 m), one of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains. In contrast to the previous day's rock, this is mostly wide, open ridge walking, and it's where you get the full exhilaration of being high up.

After Kisokomagatake we also went out toward Inamaedake (2,883 m), east of Nokkoshi-Jodo, and finally descended Hatchozaka the way we had come to Senjojiki Station. A steep rock peak, the broad ridge of the range's high point, and a glacial cirque, all inside two days. It's a generous itinerary.

Access, difficulty and kit

Notes for anyone planning Hokendake and Kisokomagatake, based on what I felt walking it.

• Access: express bus from Shinjuku to the foot of the range, then a local bus and the Komagatake Ropeway to Senjojiki at 2,612 m. The ropeway does all the elevation for you, so you can reach the alpine zone on public transport alone. It's a popular route, and the ropeway gets busy depending on season and time of day.
• Timing: we deliberately waited for the leftover snow around Golden Week (the early-May holiday period) to settle. In early spring and early summer there's still snow inside the cirque, and light clothing is dangerous. Check conditions before you commit.
• How the difficulty splits: the cirque walkway and the ridge to Kisokomagatake are manageable even if you're not used to high mountains. Hokendake, on the other hand, combines chains, rock and exposure and sits closer to advanced. If you're not confident, skipping Hokendake and doing an out-and-back to Kisokomagatake from Nokkoshi-Jodo is a perfectly sensible plan.
• Kit: if you're going up Hokendake, a helmet is essential. So are gloves you can grip rock in, boots with good traction, and the ability to move calmly on three points of contact. It's high, and it gets cold quickly when cloud rolls in, so bring insulation and waterproofs.
• Altitude: gaining 2,600 m in one go makes headaches and breathlessness more likely. Drink regularly and keep the pace deliberately slow.

What I concluded

Senjojiki is one of the most generous places in Japan: a view from above the clouds that costs you almost no walking. Add the rock ridge of Hokendake and you have two days that hold both easy access and genuinely demanding climbing.

If you're wondering where to start, don't force it — do the cirque and the ridge to Kisokomagatake first. Then, once you feel steady on rock, bring a helmet and go for Hokendake. For me, getting over a peak I'd been unsure I could handle was the most valuable thing I took away.

Take the ropeway's convenience gratefully, but treat everything past it with respect. Go safely, and go and see the rock and the views of the Central Alps for yourself. I'd love you to see the scale of the Senjojiki cirque from the drone in the video.

🛒 See the gear from the video as a list → The kit I shoot my mountain videos with

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