Kiso Mountains (木曽山脈, Kiso Sanmyaku) are a mountain range in Nagano and Gifu prefectures in Japan. They are also called the Central Alps (中央アルプス, Chūō Arupusu) and they combine with the Hida Mountains ("Northern Alps") and the Akaishi Mountains ("Southern Alps") to form a group collectively known as the Japanese Alps.
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👉 Kiso Mountains in the context of Nagano Prefecture
Nagano Prefecture (長野県, Nagano-ken; Japanese pronunciation: [naꜜɡano, naɡanoꜜkeɴ]) is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. It has a population of 2,007,682 as of 1 July 2023 and a geographic area of 13,561.56 square kilometres (5,236.15 sq mi). It borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the northeast, Saitama Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the southeast, Shizuoka Prefecture and Aichi Prefecture to the south, and Gifu Prefecture and Toyama Prefecture to the west.
Nagano is the prefecture's capital and largest city, with other major cities including Matsumoto, Ueda, and Iida. The prefecture is known for its impressive highland areas of the Japanese Alps, including most of the Hida Mountains, Kiso Mountains, and Akaishi Mountains, which extend into neighbouring prefectures; it contains nine of the twelve highest mountains in Japan. Its mountain ranges, natural scenery, and history have gained the prefecture international recognition as a winter sports tourist destination, and it received further attention as the host of the 1998 Winter Olympics. It is served by the Hokuriku Shinkansen railway line with direct services to Tokyo, Toyama, and Kanazawa.
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Kiso Mountains in the context of Akaishi Mountains
The Akaishi Mountains (赤石山脈, Akaishi Sanmyaku) are a mountain range in central Honshū, Japan, bordering Nagano, Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures. They are also called the Southern Alps (南アルプス, Minami Arupusu), as they join with the Hida Mountains ("Northern Alps") and the Kiso Mountains ("Central Alps") to form the Japanese Alps.
Kiso Mountains in the context of Japanese Alps
The Japanese Alps (日本アルプス, Nihon Arupusu) is a series of mountain ranges in Japan which bisect the main island of Honshu. The peaks that tower over central Honshu have long been the object of veneration and pilgrimage. These mountains had long been exploited by local people for raw materials, including timber, fuel, fertilizer, fodder, meat, minerals, and medicines. Many visitors have come to the mountains for pilgrimage, especially to the Buddhist temples located within them and the sacred peak of Mount Tate.
The name was coined by English archaeologist William Gowland, and later popularized by Reverend Walter Weston (1861–1940), an English missionary for whom a memorial plaque is located at Kamikōchi, a tourist destination known for its alpine climate. When Gowland coined the phrase, he was only referring to the Hida Mountains, but it now also applies to the Kiso Mountains and Akaishi Mountains.
Kiso Mountains in the context of Hida Mountains
The Hida Mountains (飛騨山脈, Hida Sanmyaku), or Northern Alps (北アルプス, Kita Arupusu), is a Japanese mountain range which stretches through Nagano, Toyama and Gifu prefectures. A small portion of the mountains also reach into Niigata Prefecture. William Gowland coined the phrase "Japanese Alps" during his time in Japan, but he was only referring to the Hida Mountains when he used that name. The Kiso and Akaishi mountains received the name in the ensuing years.
Kiso Mountains in the context of Lake Suwa
Lake Suwa (諏訪湖, Suwa-ko) is a lake in the Kiso Mountains, in the central region of Nagano Prefecture, Japan.