, or Ainodake, is a peak of the

Akaishi Mountains The are a mountain range in central Honshū, Japan, bordering Nagano, Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures. It is also called the , as it joins with the Hida Mountains ("Northern Alps") and the Kiso Mountains ("Central Alps") to form the Japa ...

−Southern Alps, in

Minami Alps National Park is a national park in the Akaishi Mountains, Chūbu region, Honshū, Japan. The Minami Alps National Park was established on June 1, 1964. It extends along the border of Shizuoka, Yamanashi and Nagano Prefectures for a length of , and a maxi ...

, Japan. At , it is the fourth tallest peak in Japan and the second highest in the

.Mount Aino
. Minami Alps Net. Accessed July 1, 2008. Its summit lies on the border of Aoi-ku and Shizuoka in

Shizuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,637,998 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the north ...

, and of Minami-Alps in

Yamanashi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Yamanashi Prefecture has a population of 817,192 (1 January 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,465 km2 (1,724 sq mi). Yamanashi Prefecture borders Saitama Prefecture to the n ...

. Mount Aino is one of the landmark

100 Famous Japanese Mountains is a book written in 1964 by mountaineer and author Kyūya Fukada.Hyakumeizan, Hiking Japan!
. Japa ...

Location

Within the Akaishi Mountains, Mount Aino is situated roughly south of

Mount Kita is a mountain of the Akaishi Mountains−"Southern Alps" (南アルプス ''Minami-Arupusu''), in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. It is the second tallest mountain in Japan, after Mount Fuji, and is known as "the Leader of the Southern Alps".< ...

, the ranges' tallest peak. Together with to the south the three mountains may be referred to as . East of the summit lies the

cirque A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landf ...

Geography

Mount Aino, like most of the Shiranesanzan, abounds with

alpine plant Alpine plants are plants that grow in an alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. There are many different plant species and taxa that grow as a plant community in these alpine tundra. These include perennial grasses, ...

s. The neighborhood is dominated by rocks where few plants can survive. It has been conceived that

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environments, ...

s around the summit have led to the growth of linear hollows. Taking into account such landslides, Mount Aino might have been dozens of metres higher in the past compared to its present altitude. It may have been Japan's tallest mountain during the

Last Glacial Maximum The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), also referred to as the Late Glacial Maximum, was the most recent time during the Last Glacial Period that ice sheets were at their greatest extent. Ice sheets covered much of Northern North America, Northern Eu ...

. At that time,

Mount Fuji , or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highes ...

had not reached its present height, and the second and third mountains (Mount Kita and Mount Hotaka) are presently only 4 and 1 metre taller, respectively. Even though Mount Aino does not reach the height of Mount Kita, in its shape and dimension, it bears an equally great mass.

Mountain trails

Mount Aino lies on the traversal route between Mount Kita and Mount Nōtori. On the summit a trail forks towards in the west, where it connects to the traversal route. The nearest

alpine hut A mountain hut is a building located high in the mountains, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club or some organizatio ...

is , which lies on a saddle to the south below . Another is situated to the north on a saddle between Mount Aino and Mount Kita.

Gallery

File:04_Ainodake_from_Happonbanokashira_2001-10-3.jpg, Mount Aino in autumn
from Mount Kita File:Mount_Aino_fom_Mount_NishiNoutori_1994-8-6.jpg, Mount Aino
from Mount NishiNōtori File:Kitadake_and_Ainodake_from_Senjogatake_1999-7-25.jpg,

and Mount Aino
from Mount Senjō File:Abearkuradake_from_siomidake_2002_8_20.jpg,

from Mount Shiomi File:Mt.Aino_from_Yashajin_Pass.jpg, Mout Aino shot
from Yashajin Pass,Yamanashi Prefecture

References

External links