What is the highest peak in the Japanese Alps?

Mount Kita is the highest peak in the Japanese Alps, rising to 3,193 meters in the Southern Alps of central Honshu. It is Japan's second-highest mountain after Mount Fuji.

The Japanese Alps are not one single ridge but a collective name for three major ranges: the Hida Mountains, or Northern Alps; the Kiso Mountains, or Central Alps; and the Akaishi Mountains, or Southern Alps. Mount Kita is the highest point of the Akaishi Mountains and therefore the highest summit in the wider Japanese Alps system.

A common mix-up is Mount Hotaka, which reaches about 3,190 meters and is the highest peak of the Northern Alps. Mount Fuji is higher than both, at 3,776 meters, but it is generally treated separately from the Japanese Alps.

The name “Japanese Alps” was introduced by English archaeologist William Gowland and later popularized by missionary and mountaineer Walter Weston. Mount Kita is in Yamanashi Prefecture and lies within Minami Alps National Park.