Mt. Shibutsu (至仏山）
Mt. Shibutsu is a deceptively rocky peak separating Oze marsh and the rest of Gunma Prefecture. A fair number of hikers also make it the final peak of their Hyakumeizan endeavor, as the Chinese characters translate as “reaching Buddha”.
The hike: You’ve got 2 options for this one. You can either climb/descend to Hatomachi-toge or climb from Yama-no-hana (山ノ鼻) and descend to Hatomachi-toge. The trail from Yama-no-hana to the summit is for climbing only and is “closed” for people descending because of the rocks. I really have no idea why you’re not supposed to descend because it just adds to trail erosion to have so many people going up and down from Hatomachi-toge. Anyway, I strongly encourage breaking the rules and feigning inability to read the signs. Anyway, the trail from Hatomachi is well-marked and oh so trodden. It would be impossible to get lost even in the worst of weather. It’ll take about 90 minutes or so to reach the ridge line. The trail climbs steeply, flattens out a bit with lots of wooden planks to walk on, and then climbs up some more. You’ll pass by a water source at the base of a long set of wooden steps before too long. The map says that this water can become contaminated but I drank it unfiltered in September and lived to tell about it. Just past the water source the trail will flatten out once again and you’ll be faced with more wooden planks. While helping to alleviate trail erosion and protect endangered flora, the wooden planks become absolutely treacherous during wet weather, and I must’ve fallen a half a dozen times on the descent, so please take care. In a few minutes you’ll find a trail branching off on the left towards Mt. Kasa (笠ヶ岳), but just ignore it and continue climbing up. This is where you enter the rocky section, with lots of wooden steps and paint marks to help you find your way. It should take about a half hour to reach Ko-Shibutsu (小至仏山), which has awesome views of Oze and Mt. Hiuchi. Descend to a saddle and continue the steady climb through lots of rocks for about 45 minutes until reaching the summit. Take a break and admire the views, or take a quick photo and get out of there during nasty weather. The top is completely exposed – not the kind of place you want to be in a thunderstorm! From the top, you can either continue down the “closed” trail to Yama-no-hana, or retrace your steps all the way back to Hatomachi-toge, and then take the 1 hour “legal” wooden path down to Oze.
When to go: This hike can be done between mid-April and mid-November, when the road to Hatomachi-toge is open. If you don’t mind snowshoeing/skiing on the forest road from Togura then you can also try a winter ascent. Be prepared for a ton of snow even if you go during Golden Week. Click here to get an idea of how much.
Access: From Numata station (沼田駅) take a bus bound for Hatomachi-toge (鳩待峠). Please note that there are no direct buses, and that you must change to a shuttle bus at Togura (戸倉). The first bus leaves at 8:37am, but buses bound for Oshimizu (大清水) leave at 7:20 and 8:02, but make sure you get off at Togura so you can transfer. Please note that if you’ve got 4 people you can easily hire a taxi for exactly the same price as the bus! The taxi and bus are run by the same company, so you should really consider doing this because it will save you so much time. They may even give you the same price for only 3 people – usually they just turn off the meter when it hits the negotiated price. The bus costs a whopping 3100 yen per person, so you can see why the taxi drivers are eager for the cash. Click here for the schedule. Click on “路線バス” and then select “沼田”. Next, click on the schedule #12 that says “上毛高原”
Level of difficulty: 3 out of 5 (elevation change ~800m).
Explore posts in the same categories: Gunma hikes (群馬県)Tags: hiking, Hyakumeizan (百名山), japan, Mt. Shibutsu, Oze
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Hiking in Japan 
October 31, 2014 at 9:59 pm
Enjoyed the hike up Shibutsu today from the Hatomachi parking area. We walked to Yama-no-hana and then began our ascent. The wooden planks were very slippery with icy patches in the forested area but once we got above the trees it was much better. The parking area/road to this trailhead officially closes this weekend.
February 5, 2015 at 5:45 pm
Hello, I’m thinking of going there this week end. It’s probably full of snow, can you confirm that buses are running to tokura (戸倉)? I cannot find anything on the website… Thank you!
February 5, 2015 at 5:58 pm
Zac,
The buses are running to Togura:
Click to access 201411281103578147.pdf
The question is, how is the world are you going to get to Shibutsu? You’ll basically have to snowshoe in from Togura, as the road to Hatomachi pass is buried under several meters of snow.
Mt. Shibutsu is considered an expert mountain in the winter, with high avalanche risk and neck-deep snow drifts. Most people do not attempt the mountain until mid-April at the earliest.
June 30, 2015 at 6:37 pm
I just saw your reply…
4 months too late. I didn’t go actually, it looked way too complicated just to reach the trail entrance. I have snowshoes so I may do it next year.
For the record, I ended up doing a big loop in Tanigawadake instead. Thanks for the infos though!
July 21, 2025 at 2:51 pm
Do this hike as early in your List as possible. For real.
It is also really not, not recommended to do it clockwise, as Buddhism and logic might command. Do it for yourself and the thousands of people going counter-clockwise, otherwise you may accumulate enough bad karma to make the mountains cry. The paths are narrow and you won’t save any time by trying to go against the endless current of bodies.
If you have the ill luck of climbing Shibutsu later into your list, here are some suggestions to keep it fun:
Start hiking from Tokura. Easy 10km – 2 hours on a road, just watch if you go early in the morning when the shuttles run. The shuttles at this point are also 3 to a minute and cost whopping 1.300¥ each way – same money you pay from Senryuso to the Southern Alps, which is twice the distance and three times the elevation!
After doing your loop, continue across the marshes to the Miharashi Campsite. If you climb Hiuchi from there on the same day, having started from Tokura, you should pass the formidable 40km hiked mark!
I actually topped off my hiking marathon first thing in the morning when I walked from the Katashina Michi no Eki, where I slept, over the bridge, to the Yamazaki Combini for my morning coffee.
Anyway, the Yamanohana Campsite by Shibutsu is pretty small so consider going to Miharashi regardless. Plus the marshlands are majestic, especially in the morning. Much better than the human-swarmed joke of a mountain. Each costs 1.000¥ pp pn – cheap, unlike anything else on the marshlands.
Oh, finally, they now ask you not to do the hike after 4PM due to frequent black bear sightings in the area. Why on earth do the bears go anywhere near this place is beyond my understanding.