Akaishi Mountains

Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Infobox mountain The Template:Nihongo are a mountain range in central Honshū, Japan, bordering Nagano, Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures. They are also called the Template:Nihongo, as they join with the Hida Mountains ("Northern Alps") and the Kiso Mountains ("Central Alps") to form the Japanese Alps.

Origin of the name

There are a lot of red stones (赤石 Aka-Ishi) around the Akaishi River, a tributary of the Ōi River in the southern part of Southern Alps. Then it was said that the mountain of red stone came to be called Mount Akaishi. The mountain represents the mountain range and the name Akaishi is used for the whole range mountain range, Akaishi Mountains.<ref>Name dictionary of Japanese Mountain (日本山名辞典), Shōbunsya(昭文社) in 1992, Template:ISBN, P4</ref>

Major peaks

Almost all major peaks of the Akaishi Mountains are in Minami Alps National Park that was established on June 1, 1964.<ref>Minami Alps National Park Template:Webarchive(home page of the Ministry of the Environment)</ref> The range is the source of two rivers, Ōi River and Tenryū River, which flow to the Pacific Ocean.

File:Akaishi Mountains and Ina Valley from Mount Ena 2010-12-12.JPG

Scenery of Akaishi Mountains seen from Mount Ena in early winter

File:Group photo of South Alps.jpg

Major Peaks of Akaishi Mountains

Image	Mountain	Height	Note
File:Mount Houousan from Kitadake 2001-10-3.jpg	Mt. Hō'ō	Template:Convert	100 Famous
File:Kaikoma7.JPG	Mt. Nokogiri	Template:Convert	200 Famous
File:Mount Kaikomagatake from Jizodake 2010-10-15.jpg	Mt. Kaikoma	Template:Convert	100 Famous
File:17 Senjyogatake from Kosenjyogatake 1999-7-25.jpg	Mt. Senjō	Template:Convert	100 Famous
File:Mount Kita from Kosenjo 1996-12-31.jpg	Mt. Kita	Template:Convert	the highest mountain in Akaishi Mountains 100 Famous
File:Mount Aino fom Mount Kita 1995-7-30.jpg	Mt. Aino	Template:Convert<ref name="gsi2014">Template:Cite web</ref>	100 Famous
File:Noutoridake from ainodake 1996 7 29.jpg	Mt. Nōtori	Template:Convert	200 Famous
File:16 Shiomidake from Eboshidake 1999-11-5.jpg	Mt. Shiomi	Template:Convert	100 Famous
File:06 Warusawadake from Kogochidake 1999-11-5.jpg	Mt. Warusawa	Template:Convert	100 Famous
File:07 Akaishidake from Hijiridake 2001-9-25.jpg	Mt. Akaishi	Template:Convert	100 Famous
File:21 Hijiridake from Minamidake 1996-11-16.jpg	Mt. Hijiri	Template:Convert	100 Famous
File:Tekaridake and ikeguchidake from ikohijiridake 2002 11 6.jpg	Mt. Tekari	Template:Convert	100 Famous

Flora and fauna

Alpine plants, such as Siberian dwarf pine can be seen above the tree line. Rock ptarmigan and spotted nutcracker also live in the alpine zone. Japanese serow and sika deer live in the forest belt on the mountain slopes. Template:Nihongo is endemic to Mount Kita.

• Rock ptarmigan
  Rock ptarmigan
• Spotted nutcracker
  Spotted
  nutcracker
• Sika deer
  Sika deer
• Siberian dwarf pine
  Siberian
  dwarf pine
• Callianthemum hondoense
  Callianthemum
  hondoense
• Polemonium caeruleum
  Polemonium
  caeruleum

Walter Weston in the Japanese Alps

Englishman Walter Weston introduced the Western world to the Japanese Alps in his book Mountaineering and Exploring in the Japanese Alps. During his visits to Japan, he climbed Akaishi Mountains. Several monuments in his memory have been set up in several places in the Japanese Alps.

He climbed the following peaks:

• 1892 Mount Akaishi - The first non-Japanese to climb this mountain
• 1902 Mount Kita
• 1903 Mount Kaikoma
• 1904 Mount Hōō and Mount Senjō

See also

• Japanese Alps
  • Hida Mountains (Northern Alps)
  • Kiso Mountains (Central Alps)
• Minami Alps National Park
• Minami-Alps Biosphere Reserve
• 100 Famous Japanese Mountains
• Walter Weston

Books

• Mountaineering and Exploring in the Japanese Alps -by Walter Weston (1896)

External links

• Yamanashi Nichinichi Newspaper: Minami Alps website