Japanese Alps see record rescue numbers amid rising tourist risk, outdoor safety concerns

Experts blame hikers and skiers overestimating their abilities and underestimating harsh terrain and weather

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Japan’s Kobushi mountain region straddling part of Tokyo, and Saitama, Yamanashi and Nagano prefectures. The Nagano mountains saw record number of rescues in 2024. Photo: Kyodo

Published: 9:30am, 27 Mar 2025Updated: 9:39am, 27 Mar 2025

Japan’s breathtaking, yet treacherous, mountains of Nagano Prefecture experienced an alarming surge in rescue operations in 2024, with a record 321 individuals requiring help, including 13 who tragically lost their lives or were reported missing while hiking or skiing. This figure surpasses the previous year’s record of 302 rescues and underscores a troubling trend in outdoor safety.

Experts point to a tendency among hikers and skiers to overestimate their abilities, while simultaneously underestimating the challenges presented by the terrain and the unpredictable weather in the Japanese Alps.

“Weather conditions across all of Japan were pretty wild at times last year and that may well have been a factor in many of these incidents,” said Paul Christie, founder of the Walk Japan travel company.

Hikers have to remember to always take the mountains seriously, even when it seems that conditions are good

Paul Christie, travel company owner

“The summer was the hottest ever recorded here, and people can very easily underestimate their ability to deal with fatigue,” he told This Week in Asia. “In addition, there was a lot of very heavy snow on the Sea of Japan, (East Sea), side of the mountains, even from early in the winter, and that may have played a part as well.

“Hikers have to remember to always take the mountains seriously, even when it seems that conditions are good,” he added.

Nagano police told the Yomiuri newspaper that many of those who required help were inexperienced hikers who attempted to ascend some of the region’s more challenging peaks, including the 3,190-metre Mount Kita Hotakadake, the third-highest mountain in Japan.

Almost 30 per cent of the cases that emergency teams responded to involved walkers slipping down a mountainside, while a further 22 per cent sustained injuries from falls, and 16 per cent suffered from exhaustion. Notably, individuals aged 60 or older accounted for 46 per cent of the total cases, the police added.