Mt. Myoko and Mt. Hiuchi

In 1965, mountaineer and writer Kyuya Fukuda first published The 100 Famous Japanese Mountains—and also began a boom in mountain climbing. Among the 100 are 2,454-meter Mt. Myoko and 2,462-meter Mt. Hiuchi. Both are right here in Myoko.

“Mt. Myoko is also known as Echigo (the old name for Niigata) Fuji, and is famous across the country,” Fukuda wrote. “The elegance of its balanced shape and the grandeur of its flowing base make it worthy of it being one of the Famous Mountains.”

About Mt. Hiuchi, he wrote, “No matter how much snow falls, most mountains are never completely covered in snow. Some cliffs and rock face will not be covered. But Mt. Hiuchi turns completely white. As far as I know, Mt. Hakusan and Mt. Hiuchi are the only mountains that are completely white, without a speck of black.”

The trailheads for both are in Myoko.

Mt. Myoko

 

Mt. Hiuchi