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Mountain·JapanJapan

Mount Kita

3,193m

Akaishi Mountains

Summit weather

拓実 橋本 · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation
3,193m
Prominence
2,239m
Relief
1,910mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope
59°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit
Oct–JulSee month by month ↓
Summit
35.6742°N, 138.2389°E

Mountain in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan

Mount Kita is a mountain in the Akaishi Mountains (Japan). Its summit stands 3,193 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 2,239 m.

From the lowest point within 5 km (1,283 m), it rises 1,910 m. The steepest side is the north-east face: 35° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 59° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Nirasaki, 19 km away at 349 m: 2,844 m below the summit.

Read more on Wikipedia

Scores

Mount Kita for skiers and climbers

Two scores out of 10, built only from open data — every part is shown. They describe what the mountain offers, not how safe it is.

Hiking & mountaineering

7.4/10

Difficulty to the top

Hike

Most path sections around the top are T2 on the SAC hiking scale.

Indicative only — never a safety assessment. Conditions change: ask local guides and check the forecast.

  • 0.9/2.51 waymarked routes and 16 path sections nearby
  • 1.5/1.520 huts and shelters
  • 2.0/22,844 m of ascent from the valley
  • 1.4/1.52,239 m of prominence
  • 1.5/1.58 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
  • 0.0/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

—

No ski runs within 12 km in OpenStreetMap.

How these scores are made

Ski (where OpenStreetMap has skiing within 12 km): up to 4 points for the length of downhill runs (300 km or more = 4), 1.5 for the number of lifts (40+), 1.5 for the vertical between lift stations (1,500 m) and 3 for the snow season — a month counts when the estimated mean temperature at the height of the ski area is −1 °C or lower and snow falls or lies there (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). Hiking & mountaineering: up to 2.5 for waymarked routes and paths, 1.5 for huts, 2 for the ascent from the valley (2,000 m), 1.5 for prominence (3,000 m), 1.5 for the season (months with summit afternoons above −5 °C) and 1 for via ferratas, climbing and glaciers. OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: where few things are mapped, a score can be lower than reality.

Plan your visit

Stay, climb and get there

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

Snow

When there is snow on Mount Kita

At the summit, snow from October to July. Month by month below, at different heights on the way up.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Summit3,193 msnow from October to July
Snow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthNo snowNo snowSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all month
Halfway up1,771 msnow from December to April (some years from November to April)
Snow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthSnow on the ground all monthNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowSnow some of the timeSnow on the ground all month
Nirasaki349 moccasional snow in January
Snow some of the timeNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snowNo snow
  • Snow on the ground all month
  • Snow some of the time
  • No snow
  • This month

Estimate for a normal year: average temperature and precipitation from NASA POWER, carried to each height, in a simple model of snow building up and melting. In a given year snow can come earlier or stay longer. It does not replace the local snow and avalanche bulletin.

Summit weather

Mount Kita, month by month

Not a forecast: long-term averages (1991–2020), carried up to the summit. The orange line is where an average afternoon reaches 0 °C; above the dashed blue line it freezes even at dawn.

On an average August afternoon the summit reaches about 12 °C; on January nights it falls to about -22 °C. In 6 months of the year it stays below freezing at the top even in the afternoon. In August the 0 °C line climbs to about 5,050 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, January is the driest month (59 mm) and July the wettest (219 mm).

0 m1,000 m2,000 m3,000 m4,000 m5,000 mSUMMIT · 3,193 mNIRASAKI · 349 mJanuary: 1,230 mFebruary: 1,520 mMarch: 2,110 mApril: 3,030 mMay: 3,880 mJune: 4,370 mJuly: 4,910 mAugust: 5,050 mSeptember: 4,520 mOctober: 3,660 mNovember: 2,680 mDecember: 1,680 mJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0 °C on an average afternoon 0 °C at dawn the summit
MonthSummit high °CSummit low °CNirasaki high °C0 °C line (m)Rain & snow (mm)Wet daysSun h/day
January-13-2261,2305966.1
February-11-2081,5207276.1
March-7-17112,110115106.1
April-1-12173,030130116.2
May4-6233,880143126.1
June8-1264,370171164.2
July113304,910219184.5
August124305,050156175.6
September90274,520194144.6
October3-6223,660183114.6
November-3-12152,6808085.4
December-10-1891,6806375.8

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 1,369 m), adjusted to the summit by −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Rain, wet days and sunshine are those of the region. Mountain weather changes fast — always check a local forecast. ★ = mildest months at the top.

Relief

The mountain in profile

Two cuts through the summit, 16 km long, from the 30 m Copernicus elevation model. Heights drawn 2× taller than lengths, so the shape can be seen.

West – east
3,193 m1,283 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmWE
South – north
3,193 m1,732 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmSN
Steepness by direction
30°N: 17°NNE: 35°NEE: 31°ESE: 26°SES: 29°SSW: 25°SWW: 29°WNW: 29°NW

Average slope of the first kilometre from the summit. The orange petal is the steepest side.

Around the mountain

Huts, lifts and trails around Mount Kita

Counted around the summit in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. The satellite plate shows 14 × 14 km.

Mount Kita seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

  • 20mountain huts and shelters

    南御室小屋, 薬師岳小屋, 仙丈小屋, 熊ノ平小屋 (2,586 m) and 16 more

  • —cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
  • —ski areas
  • 1waymarked hiking routes

    鳳凰三山縦走路

  • —via ferratas
  • —climbing crags and routes
  • —named glaciers
  • 5viewpoints

    辻山展望台, 槍展望台 and 3 more

  • 4campsites

    農鳥キャンプ場

  • —hotels, B&Bs and chalets
  • —restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

16 path sections within 5 km, by SAC hiking scale (T1 easy walk … T6 difficult alpine).

T2T3T4
  • T2 mountain hiking
  • T3 demanding mountain hiking
  • T4 alpine hiking

Towns at the foot

  • Nirasaki19 km · 349 m
  • Minami-Alps21 km · 298 m
  • Minamiarupusu22 km · 297 m
  • Ichiba22 km · 813 m
  • Hokuto23 km · 715 m
  • Kajikazawa24 km · 276 m
  • Ryūō24 km · 288 m
  • Kai24 km · 340 m

OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: a low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. Places © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Photos

Seen by climbers and visitors

20250621 北岳
C1815 · CC0
北岳からの北岳山荘
Koda6029 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Recent years

How each month compared at the summit

Afternoon high at the summit (estimate). The first row is the reference, the 1991–2020 average in °C; the years show only the difference.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
1991–2020 average-13-11-7-148111293-3-10
2020+2.9+1.8+1.6−2.4+0.7+1.1−2.2+1.3−0.2−0.7+1.6+0.5
2021+0.9+1.6+4.1+0.8−0.3±0.0−0.3−0.8−0.6+0.5−0.4+0.4
2022+0.1−2.1+2.2+2.3−0.2±0.0+0.5±0.0+1.4−0.6+1.7−0.7
2023+1.4+1.2+4.2+1.8+0.1+0.3+1.1+0.6+2.1−0.5+1.4+2.3
2024+2.1+3.0−0.9+3.4+1.0+0.1+1.2+0.9+2.1+2.7+2.0−0.6
2025+0.6−1.6+1.7+1.1−0.1+2.1+1.8+0.8+1.5+1.2+0.1+1.7

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominenceWikidata (Q961873) · CC0
Relief, 3D view, profilesCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020 · CC BY 4.0
Around the mountain© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

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