Mt. Nyoho (2,483m) 女峰山
Closest Train Station: Nikko (日光駅）
Mount Nyoho from Mount Akanagi. Marc Wilkinson, 2021
From the epic stairway, snow & ice capped mountain ridge-line, rocky scree, grassy hills, and forest of gigantic trees, this amazing course certainly offers a variety of scenery as well as challenges and risks.
Not as well known as its "male" counterpart, mount Nyoho (the womanly mountain), is one of four sacred mountains that makes up the "Nikko mountain family": Nantai (man), Nyoho (woman), Omanago (older child), and Komanago (younger child). At the top of Mt. Nyoho is the Takino Shrine, the inner shrine of Takio Shrine, dedicated to Tagorihime, one of the followers of the goddess Takiribime. While it is technically possible for an experienced hiker to traverse all four mountains within a single day, due to the icy conditions near the summit of Nyoho, this was a one-mountain journey.
“Our options going back were 3 hours down the icy & snowy cliffs or down the unknown rocky scree.”
The hike started 4:50am, and from the very start I knew this was going to be quite a wild journey. The first 30 minutes consisted of climbing a staircase of epic proportions: 1,445 steps to the Komaru lookout point. There was a small motivational message written in Japanese on the stairs for every 100 steps climbed. Translated, they said things like: "Dont give up! Breaks are important! More than halfway there!" Of course after climbing the staircase, we were able to look at the beautiful Nikko scenery as the sun rose, and did an obligatory Rocky pose.
Stairs upon stairs
Immediately after reaching the lookout point, we could see nothing but more stairs followed by a steep incline across the open face of the mountain ridge. This path continued for some time, eventually transforming into a forest area. It was around this point that we noticed small patches of frost and snow forming along the road. This was a bit concerning for me, as we had neglected to bring any crampons, and knowing we still had quite amount of altitude to still ascend, I wondered how much snow there would be near the summit.
The snowy trail from Mt. Akanagi 赤薙山の頂上
Once we had reached the top of Mt. Akanagi, I could see through the treeline that we still had quite a while to go until the summit of Mt Nyoho. The closer we got to the summit, the more snow and ice had piled on. My main thoughts the whole time were, "How I wish I had packed those crampons..." That day I was traveling with my friend who had never been on such a tall mountain, so I was a bit nervous for her well being. After making our way down an ice covered rocky trail and up through a snow capped forest, we had finally reach the final stretch to the summit. On a regular day, this would have been no problem, but the snow and ice had really piled on.
Getting closer to the top, down this rocky cliff and up the snowy hill
The final push up an icy cliff
As we were taking a small break before the final push, a man who had passed us about minutes before was coming back our way. Amazed, we asked "did you already reach the top?" To which he replied, "no, the path is too treacherous, and I even have crampons." Noticing we didn't have any, he said "if you continue, you might die!" Then he continued his way down. I assured my friend we would be careful, and if it got too tough we could always just turn back. The route was certainly difficult, at one point i had no roots to grab, and had to make a support hole using my hand. Still, we managed our way up the cliff and over the snowy trail, finally making our way to the top. So, the man who had turned back, despite having better equipment, gave into fear and panic. Thankfully, myself and my friend did not, and we could enjoy an amazing view of the area.
From the summit Mt. Nyoho 女峰山の頂上
The sky was clear, and we had an epic panoramic view of the surrounding area. We could see all of the Nikko family mountains, as well as Nikko city, and even the beautiful white snow capped alps of Nagano in the distance. After taking a short break, we had to choose which path to descend. The weather was warming up, and that already slippery, icy snow was melting, making that cliff we ascended even more of a danger to return. So, it was between "the devil you know and the unknown". This time, we ultimately chose the unknown. This other trail was said to be a bit easier, but very time consuming. By "easy" it meant we had to make our way across two separate rocky screes, which are a nightmare of their own, but thankfully there was no ice or snow here, so it was manageable.
Eventually we passed by an emergency shelter, and found our way alongside a long and beautiful grassy trail. This eventually turned into another rocky scree, but that was the last of it.
As expected, this path was very time consuming, and the 4L of water I brought (I had already drank half by the summit) was hardly enough for the 6 hour descent. From that point on we journeyed across an open field, followed by a deep and beautiful forest, eventually emerging near Nikko Futarasan Shrine. Along the way, I stopped and tried out a cheap heater and made some "oshiruko" sweet bean soup.
Final impression
Overall, Mt. Nyoho was an exhausting, but amazing hiking experience, and offered a variety of landscapes and challenges to overcome. It certainly wasn't for the faint of heart, and is definitely a hike that you want to be well prepared for. Even in May there may be a surprising amount of snow at the summit, so take that into consideration.
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