Hotaka Mountains, Mountain range in Chūbu-Sangaku National Park, Hida Mountains, Japan
Hotaka Mountains refers to a chain of summits in Chubu-Sangaku National Park that straddles the border between Nagano and Gifu prefectures. The tallest point rises to 3190 meters in the northern Japan Alps.
William Gowland climbed Mount Myojin in 1880 as the first recorded alpinist and opened the area to later expeditions. Walter Weston published his accounts of Japanese mountain ranges in 1896 and brought this chain to international attention.
The name Hotaka derives from a 1646 provincial map that recorded the peak as "Hodaka-dake"; earlier it was called Mite-dake after a Shinto ritual implement. In 1690 the monk Enkū made the first recorded ascent. The range is one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains and appears in Fukada Kyūya's 1964 book of that title.
Several mountain lodges such as Hotaka Mountain Cottage and Karasawa Hut offer overnight stays for climbers traversing different summits across the range. These lodges often require advance booking, especially during the main hiking season in summer.
The north walls of the summits carry snow year-round, which shapes sharp ridges and steep rock walls. This permanent snow cover feeds several small glaciers that sit at elevations above 3000 meters (9840 feet).
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