Loop of the Northern Yatsugatake Volcanic Group: Shirakoma-ike Pond and Takamiishi

From Mugikusa-toge Pass, follow the traverse route running along the road to reach the entrance to Shirakoma-ike (approx 20minutes). From the entrance to Shirakoma-ike, follow a trail across level terrain through the old-growth forest until you reach the Shirakoma-ike lakeside.

From here, walk around the lake while admiring the view to your right. The wooden walkway is easy to walk along, but can be slippery when wet. Caution is advised after rain. Continue on past the Seitai-so mountain hut and the nearby camping area, enjoying the view of the lake to your right and the old-growth forest to your left as you walk along the path. After about 40 minutes, you’ll arrive at the Shirakoma-so mountain hut.

Follow the trail behind Shirakoma-so and hike up through the virgin forest for about 30 minutes until you reach the Takamiishi-goya mountain hut. The path to the right side of the hut leads to a rocky slope consisting of a mound of large rocks and eventually to the top of Takamiishi. From here, you can enjoy overlooking the view of the lake and old-growth forest you were just walking through.

Hike up for another 20 minutes from Takamiishi-goya to reach Mt. Maruyama. While this spot marks the highest point on the route, it is surrounded by virgin forest and, as such, has a poor view of the surroundings.
From Mt. Maruyama, descend a moderately steep path down past the small peak and walk for about 40 minutes through the old-growth forest to return to your starting point at Mugikusa-toge.