Kamikochi — Taisho-ike

A flat walk along the Azusa river through the basin that gets called Japan's Alps. From the Kappa bridge the boardwalk runs down to Taisho-ike, a pond made when Yakedake erupted in 1915 and dammed the river — dead trees still stand in it. The Hotaka peaks are in view most of the way. Private cars have been kept out all year since 1975, which is why it stays like this. [Route details] Start: Kappa-bashi · End: Taisho-ike 3.48 km one way · 1488 m to 1508 m · climb 20 m [Good to know] - The official Kamikochi site gives 3.8 km for the right bank and 4.0 km for the left, about 75–80 minutes either way; this line is 3.48 km. - Twenty metres of climbing over three and a half kilometres. Trainers are enough. - Elevation is sampled from a terrain model at 300 m spacing, not recorded on the ground.