Mount Nantai

My tips for tourists/foreigners wishing to do this hike (as of May 2025) TLDR: entrance closes at 12, wear shoes with grip (!) - it is slippy, bring at least 2 litres of water - entrance to the trail is 1000 yen, I think cash only. - CANNOT enter after 12pm - 1.100 meter elevation gain. this hike is STEEP - wear proper shoes, I wouldn’t recommend this in normal trainers. You will need shoes with grip. - the snow close to the top, and the gravel near the summit is very slippy, sticks/poles could be a massive help. - bring at least 2 litres of water, also electrolyte water could be good. - there are a lot of bug swarms at the top, bug spray would’ve been helpful. - seemingly there are monkeys, I didn’t see any but something to beware of if you planning to bring food. - bring food! It is a long hike. At least 6 hours including some rest time so you will want some energy. - there is no bins located along the trail. Or toilets. The only toilet is at the temple you enter. You must pay 100 yen for paper :/ Overall, amazing hike even on a cloudy day. I started at 11am and was down by about 5pm with minimal stops other than a good rest at the top. Most of the trail is on scramble trail which is pretty steep. There is a section you walk along a winding road. The start of the trail is through some really nice woodland, but again, steep! And it only gets worse 🤣

Mount Nantai is one of the 100 famous Japanese mountains located in Nikko,Tochigi Prefecture and this mountain is 2,486 m If you are planning to climb this mountain,I recommend you to do early morning and in a good season where weather could be best for everything.i paid 1000 yen for the single entry from the base for this hike. And yes I have uploaded some pictures of the hiking trail where you need to climb through the rocks and stones roughly 9km distance.so be prepared 🤞

Amazing experience ! What a hiking there several kind of paths during the hiking so be ready because it’s quite difficult hiking. I was unlucky because it was very cloudy but anyway I didn’t regret my choice. Be careful the night becomes very fast The hiking takes about 6 hours ( up and down) Enjoy !!

From Nikko Station, take the bus to Chuzenji Lake area. The entrance to the hiking trail starts from Nikko Futarasan Jinja Chugushi Shrine. I gave it 5 starts because the landscape and view was just so amazing! This is a medium level hike and make sure to have plenty of time when you hike this mountain (ideally, you want to book accomodation around the lake area since the hike will take you half a day, without counting the bus commuting time). Make sure to bring some lunch, be aware that there are not many convini stores or supermarkets around the lake, and the restaurants tends to close in the early afternoon, so plan well in advance! So my suggestion is to come with good supplies. Coming early from Nikko Station, we did the hike to the top on the same day. It can get rainy so bring your rainwear as well. There are some rocks to climb and can get slippery.

This is my 2nd time coming here. The view is very beautiful. I like to come during the autumn leaves season. There are a lot of rocks on the way up. For me, it took me 3 hours to walk up and 2.5 hours to walk down.