Custom PDF
Directions in Google Maps
Seasonality
Summary
A generally sound chert crag shaded by forest with sport routes in the 5.7~5.12 range. North west facing aspect means climbing is possible year round. Access is possible by car or train.
Description
A good chert crag offering about 20 routes. At its highest the crag is about 20m tall, making it one of the taller chert offerings in the Saitama/Okutama area. Grades range from 5.7 to 5.12, with the real meat coming the 5.12s.
Climbing is possible year-round due to the shaded, north west facing aspect of the crag. However mosquitoes make things unpleasant in summer, and cold can be a hindrance in deepest darkest winter.
Many of the routes have lower-offs at the lip of the overhang, however the proper finishes for all these routes are at higher lower-offs at the top of the crag. Clip the lip lower-offs then continue on without stopping to the top for full ticks. Then re-clip and the pull the rope at the lip lower-offs on your way down, to make cleaning and retrieving the rope easier.
The nearest public toilet is in the grounds of the Kyū-kitagawa Elementary School (旧北川生姜っこ). Walk down from the crag back to the road. Turn right and head uphill for a couple of minutes until the road forks. Take the right fork then turn immediately left up the entrance road to the school (kanji sign only). The toilet is directly in front of you (10 mins walk max from the base of the crag).
Access issues inherited from Japan
Some spots have access issues as many spots near crowded places elsewhere. So please ensure you follow the recommendations of local climbers and behave responsibly.
Approach
<5 min
By car: Take route 299 up from Tokyo towards Chichibu. Turn off right at the side road signposted "entrance to Nishi-Agano station (西吾野駅)". Ignore the immediate turn-off for the station, and continue up the road to the Akiba Shrine (秋葉神社). Park either on the grassy lay-by on the left (river side of the road - space for two cars) or on the lay-by opposite in front of the steep approach track heading uphill (also space for two cars, or three if one parks in front blocking the others). Walk up to the shrine first and pay 500 yen into the coin box (saisen box - 賽銭箱) for parking.
Walk up to the crag by first heading up the steep forest track in front of the shrine (on the opposite side of the river). After a couple of minutes the crag just becomes visible through the trees, and a climbers path on the left leads off the track up to the base (5 minutes from the road).
By train: Take the Seibu-Chichibu line to Nishi-Agano station. Walk downhill from the station and cross the small bridge over the river. Turn immediately right and start walking uphill (opposite direction from towards the main route 299) to the Akiba Shrine (30 mins brisk walk from the station). Then turn off right just before the shrine onto the forest track, and follow the directions uphill towards the crag.
Ethic
Clean chalk and tick marks off routes at the end of the day.
Tags
Plan your Trip
Did you know?
Did you know that you can create an account to record, track and share your climbing ascents? Thousands of climbers are already doing this.
Mon 29 May
Check out what is happening in Kitagawa.
Get a detailed insight with a timeline showing
- Ticks by climbers like you
- Discussions of the community
- Updates to the index by our users
- and many more things.
Login to see the timeline!