Mount Nikkō-Shirane
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is a
stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...
in the
Nikkō National Park is a national park in the Kantō region, on the main island of Honshū in Japan. The park spreads over three prefectures: Tochigi, Gunma and Fukushima, and was established in 1934. History The establishment of Nikkō National Park dates to ...
in central
Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...
, the main island of
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. It stands at 2,578 m high. It is the highest mountain in north eastern Japan (no higher mountains exist in the east or north of this mountain). Its peak (Mt Okushirane) is a
Lava dome In volcanology, a lava dome is a circular, mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano. Dome-building eruptions are common, particularly in convergent plate boundary settings. Around 6% of eruptions ...
of andesite. Mt Nikkō-Shirane is listed in the 100 famous mountains in Japan proposed by Kyuya Fukada and also of one of the famous mountains of Tochigi and
Gunma is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of . Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima Prefecture to t ...
prefectures respectively. It should not be confused with
Mount Kusatsu-Shirane is a active volcano, stratovolcano in Kusatsu, Gunma, Japan. It is called Kusatsu Shirane to differentiate it from the Mount Nikkō-Shirane on the other side of Gunma Prefecture. The summit of Kusatsu-Shirane volcano, located immediately north ...
elsewhere in
Gunma Prefecture is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of . Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fuk ...
. It is located at the boundary between Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture and Katashina Village, Tone County Gunma Prefecture. Mt. Nikko Shirane is surrounded by the mountains of the Shirane volcano ( Neogene volcano) and is often hidden by clouds throughout the year. From the Kanto Plain only the dome-shaped ( Quaternary volcano) summit is visible. In winter if the weather conditions permit, the white snow fields on the darker surroundings slopes can make the mountain and peak appear exceptionally white. Its peak is the highest point in both Tochigi and Gunma Prefectures The area around Shirane Volcano is designated as Nikko National Park in which there are various natural features such as Goshiki pond, Yuno lake, Yu falls, Senjo moor, and Odashiro moor. Being a designated national park, the alpine plants and vegetation are protected. The plant Sycamore mallow, which naturally appears on this mountain, can hardly be seen at the present time, with the withering of these plants also in the surrounding mountains, which is caused by air pollutants coming from the
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
metropolitan area.


Etymology

"Shirane" means a white mountain covered with snow, hence such name can be found in many places in Japan. In order to distinguish this mountain from other "Shirane", this mountain is called "Nikkō-Shirane". Its name in Japanese is written 白根 (shira-ne) which are the characters for white and root respectively. The peak Okushirane is written 奥白根 (oku-shirane) means deepest, or inner-most. Whilst there are many mountains in Japan with a similar name, in the 1 / 25,000 topographic map "Mt. Nantai" published by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, only Mt. Shirane is described.


Volcanic History and Activity

The mountain has been selected by th
Volcanic Eruption Prediction Council
as a volcano that requires a complete monitoring and observation system for volcanic disaster prevention. It is a volcano that has a depression due to erosion between Mt. Shirane and Mt. Goshiki, which are composed of old Neogene volcanic rocks around the highest peak, Mt. Okushirane. This is a newly formed lava dome where there are mountains of the Shirane volcano group such as Maeshirane, Goshikiyama, Sotoyama, and Shiranekakuzan, which are stratovolcanoes. About 5300 years ago, there have been several large-scale eruptions, and it is believed that there are more than four eruptions that left sediments in the vicinity.


Notable Eruptions and Seismic Activity

* 1649 - steam eruption. Pyroclastic fall. Eruption at the summit crater. A new crater with a large amount of ash fall and a diameter of about 200m and a depth of about 10m was formed. The top shrine was completely destroyed. * 1872 May 14 - steam eruption. An eruption occurred on the flank of the southwest slope, and a crater with a diameter of more than 200m was formed on the flank of the southwest slope. * 1873 March 12 - steam eruption. Pyroclastic fall. Eruption location unknown. * 1889 December 4th - steam eruption. Pyroclastic fall. Eruption at the old crater facing Ogawa Village on the western slope of Mt. Shirane. * 1952 July-September - smoke and ring. * 1993-95 Various times - Earthquakes and volcanic tremors. Micro-seismic activity near Lake Chuzenji and micro-seismic / tremor activity just under the summit. * 2001 March 31-early April - Earthquake, seismic activity in the northwest to northeast of Mt. Shirane, Nikko (depth less than 5km). * 2011 March - Earthquake. After the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a  9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...
, seismicity increased around 5km to the west and northwest, and from 5 to 10km from the east to the southeast.


Hiking

The mountain is accessible from a variety of routes from both Gunma and Tochigi prefectures. The main trails to the summit are from Nikko Yumoto Onsen via Sotoyama Ridge, Tengudaira, Mae Shirane, Suganuma via Midagaga Pond, and Kinsei Pass from Goshikiyama / Midagaike.Mt. Nikkō Shirane
Yamakei Online (in Japanese).
It is also possible to climb from Marunuma at the foot of the mountain to an altitude of around 2000m using the Nikko Shirane mountain ropeway, making it relatively easy to climb. Most of the regular trails are recommended to be done from mid-May until the end of October.栃木県の山 (Mountains of Tochigi Prefecture, in Japanese)
In winter the mountain is prone to heavy snowfall and extremely cold weather. Outside the above dates it is not recommended to hike or climb unless you are an experienced climber with the proper equipment.山と高知地図 日光 白根・男体 1:50,000 (Nikko; Shirane and Nantai Maps, in Japanese)
Goshiki emergency shelter.jpg, Goshiki Emergency Shelter Nikko Shirane Jan 1st 2019.jpg, Jan 1st 2019: Winter Conditions


Winter Climbing

Whilst less common and discouraged there are a number of options to hike and climb in the winter season. The most popular routes in winter are from the ski field in Yumoto via the chair lift and Mae-Shiranesan to and from the Gunma side via the Marunuma ropeway. Both are long hikes in deep snow and it is recommended to stay overnight at the emergency shelter near Goshiki-numa, about 100 metres below the summit. The 'best' winter season from mid-December to the end of April. The mountain gets the most snowfall in February. Most areas and routes are avalanche free except for the steep gullies between the main ridges, namely on the eastern side. Temperatures at or around the summit during winter can drop as low as -25°C (-13°F). Okushirane from Mae-shirane Jan 1st 2013.jpg, View of Okushirane from Mae-shirane frozen goshiki numa.jpg, View of frozen Goshiki-numa shirane summit jan 1st 2014.jpg, View from summit, New Year's Day 2014


Variation climbing

There is a non-map listed off-piste mixed snow/rock route that can be done all seasons which is a particular challenge in the winter. This the east ridge route (東陵). It can be reached from leaving the trail about mid-way between the emergency shelter and Goshiki-numa. After climbing the main cliff face, there is a knife ridge all the way to the summit on the right side.


Off-Piste Skiing

Another option in the winter is skiing a variety of off-piste routes. The recommended start is from the Marunuma Ski Fields on the Gunma side making use of the ski lift. Also possible is to ski down one of the gullies on either the side on the east or south-east ridges close to the variation climbing route. There is a chance of avalanches here due to the steepness of the gully and deep snow. File:Moiunt Nikko-Shirane Relief Map, SRTM-1.jpg, Relief Map Mt.Nikko-shirane.jpg, Lava dome File:Nikko shirane san summit 2006-11-05.jpg, Nikkō-Shirane summit File:2017 0603 1031 dsc03401.jpg, Mount Nikkō-Shirane from Mt Nikko Nantai File:2017 0603 1031 dsc03402.jpg, Mount Nikkō-Shirane from Mt Nikko Nantai


See also

*
List of mountains and hills of Japan by height The following is a list of the mountains and hills of Japan, ordered by height. Mountains over 1000 meters Mountains under 1000 metres As the generally accepted definition of a mountain (versus a hill) is 1000 m of height and 500 m of prom ...
*
List of Ultras of Japan This is a list of all the ultra-prominent peaks (with topographic prominence greater than 1,500 metres) in Japan. See also *List of mountains in Japan Sources ListMap
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Ultras Of Japan Lists of mountains by prominenc ...
*
List of Japanese prefectures by highest mountain The table shows the highest mountains by prefectures of Japan. Where the highest point of a prefecture is not a summit, peak, it will be separately described. List References * 田代博、藤本一美、清水長正、高田将志 『山 ...
*
Nikkō National Park is a national park in the Kantō region, on the main island of Honshū in Japan. The park spreads over three prefectures: Tochigi, Gunma and Fukushima, and was established in 1934. History The establishment of Nikkō National Park dates to ...
*
List of volcanoes in Japan This is a list of active and extinct volcanoes in Japan. An Orange background indicates a volcano considered active by the Japan Meteorological Agency. Hokkaido Honshū Izu Islands Ogasawara Archipelago The Ogasawara Archipelago ...


References


External links


Nikko-Shiranesan
- Japan Meteorological Agency * - Japan Meteorological Agency

- Geological Survey of Japan * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nikko-Shirane Mountains of Gunma Prefecture Mountains of Tochigi Prefecture Volcanoes of Honshū Polygenetic shield volcanoes Active volcanoes Volcanoes of Gunma Prefecture Volcanoes of Tochigi Prefecture Highest points of Japanese national parks