Joshin’etsukogen National Park - Mt. Tanigawadake Region 上信越高原国立公園　谷川岳地域 <ユニボイス>： 谷川岳、一ノ倉沢、山岳資料館、登山指導センター、谷川岳ロープウェイ等

Official explanation

Joshin’etsukogen National Park was established in 1949. As of 2020, it is the fourth-largest national park in Japan, spanning 148,194 hectares of Gunma, Niigata, and Nagano Prefectures. Japan’s national parks system was created in 1931 in response to widespread demand for a system to protect Japan’s natural wilderness and the human communities that have formed as part of it. The diverse landscapes and myriad wildlife of Joshin’etsukogen perfectly fit the definition of a national park as “a landscape that is representative of Japan.” Joshin’etsukogen’s landscape includes impressive mountains like Mt. Asama (2,568 m) in the south and Mt. Naeba (2,145 m) in the north, as well as crater lakes, verdant marshland, brisk highlands, and numerous hot springs. For the sheer scale and variety of the park’s natural environments, including mountains and highlands, the region has been called an “outdoor recreation world” for hiking, skiing, camping, and other outdoor activities.

The Tanigawa Mountain Range straddles the border between Gunma and Niigata Prefectures. The two peaks of Mt. Tanigawadake, Okinomimi (1,977 m) and Tomanomimi (1,963 m), were once regarded as the dwelling places of Shinto deities. When viewed from the south, the peaks perfectly resemble the ears of a cat, which is the origin of their name—the “two ears.” The range was uplifted beginning some 4.4 million years ago, after which erosion by water, snow, and glacial movement has carved out its characteristic U-shaped valleys. The steep, craggy mountain faces created by this process make the mountain range a forbidding place for flora and fauna.

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Mt. Tanigawadake (1,977 m) itself, though comparatively lower than many of the other mountain peaks in the national park, is known as a mecca for hikers and rock climbers. The area around Mt. Tanigawadake is counted among Japan’s “three great rock faces,” and the mountain has been popular with mountaineers since the early twentieth century. The first hiking paths originated as trails used by mountain ascetics. Hiking paths were first established during the 1930s, and several more have been added in subsequent years, including trails for both casual visitors and seasoned hikers. To facilitate easy travel to the mountain peaks, a ropeway linking the foothills to the mountain ridge at Tenjindaira was built in 1960 and has been upgraded several times.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.