Akaishi Mountains

The Akaishi Mountains (赤石山脈) are a mountain range in central Honshū, Japan, bordering Nagano, Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures. It is also called the Southern Alps (南アルプス), as it joins with the Hida Mountains ("Northern Alps") and the Kiso Mountains ("Central Alps") to form the Japanese Alps.

Origin of the name
There are a lot of red stones (赤石 Aka-Ishi) around the Akaishi River, a tributary of the Ōi River in the southern part of Southern Alps. Then it was said that the mountain of red stone came to be called Mount Akaishi. The mountain represents the mountain range and the name Akaishi is used for the whole range mountain range, Akaishi Mountains.

Major peaks
Almost all major peaks of the Akaishi Mountains are in Minami Alps National Park that was established on June 1, 1964. The range is the source of two rivers, Ōi River and Tenryū River, which flow to the Pacific Ocean.

Flora and fauna
Alpine plants, such as Siberian dwarf pine can be seen above the tree line. Rock ptarmigan and spotted nutcracker also live in the alpine zone. Japanese serow and sika deer live in the forest belt on the mountain slopes. Callianthemum hondoense (北岳草) is endemic to Mount Kita.

Walter Weston in the Japanese Alps
Englishman Walter Weston introduced the Western world to the Japanese Alps in his book Mountaineering and Exploring in the Japanese Alps. During his visits to Japan, he climbed Akaishi Mountains. Several monuments in his memory have been set up in several places in the Japanese Alps.

He climbed the following peaks:
 * 1892 Mount Akaishi - The first non-Japanese to climb this mountain
 * 1902 Mount Kita
 * 1903 Mount Kaikoma
 * 1904 Mount Hōō and Mount Senjō

Books

 * Mountaineering and Exploring in the Japanese Alps -by Walter Weston (1896)