Marshes and Moss: Hiking Through Autumn Gold at Mt. Nyukasa
This mountain is very popular with locals, but I only came across it for the very first time after years of hiking in Japan. I stumbled upon it on Google Maps while looking for a new mountain to hike in Nagano, and the marshes caught my attention immediately. After spending a day there, I don’t know how it fell outside of my radar for so long.
The marshes looked beautiful in autumn, completely different from what they would look like in summer. Another thing I didn’t expect was the moss forest, just right beside Oahara Marshland. It looked like something straight out of a Ghibli film yet it also felt eerie since it was so quiet.
The route
The route was straightforward: I started from the upper gondola station, and after hiking for about 3 km, I reached the peak of Mt. Nyukasa, then I headed over to Oahara Marshland and then hiked back down almost the exact same way.
You can download this GPX track I saved on Coros.
Getting there
I took the Azusa limited express train to get to Fujimi Station, and from there there’s a free shuttle to the resort that runs daily at 10 am. I actually arrived an hour earlier and didn’t have the patience to wait for the free shuttle, so I tried calling a cab, but they rejected me since they were too busy, so I ended up taking the free shuttle.
| 06:26 | Shinjuku Station |
| … 2 hrs 21 mins by Shinkansen | |
| 08:47 | Fujimi Station |
| … 1 hr 13 mins wait | |
| 10:00 | Fujimi Station |
| … 15 mins by bus | |
| 10:15 | Fujimi Panorama Resort |
