Japanese Alps 日本アルプス

Japanische Alpen

The Japanese Alps are a mountain range on the Japanese island of Honshū, consisting of the Hida mountains, the Kiso mountains and the Akaishi mountains. In his book “Guide to Japan”, published in 1881, William Gowland, a British mining engineer who had surveyed the Hira mountains, referred to the mountains as the “Japan Alps”, after the Alps in Europe. Later, KOJIMA Usui – Japanese author who was known for establishing Japan’s first mountaineering society – named the Hida, Kiso and Akaishi ranges the “Northern, Central and Southern Alps” respectively.