Bandai-Asahi National Park - Iide Region

Iide Region

The Iide Region is the south-western unit of the park.

The Iide mountain range comprises the northern portion of the Echigo Range. The largest land mass of the range is the Iide Massif and surrounded by the Arakawa River to the north, National Highway Route 121 to the east, the Agano River to the south, and the Echigo Plain to the east. From the range visible on sunny days are the Asahi Range, Mt. Azuma, and Aizu Basin, Mt. Nasu and the Sea of Japan. The highest peak is Mt Dainichi, 2128 m in height, followed by other 2000 m peaks: Mt. Iide (2105 m), Mt. Eboshi (2017 m), Mt Kitamata (2025 m), and Mt. Onishi (2013 m). The mountain range has readily-available trails on all four sides, but large snowpacks remain all year on many of its peaks, as they sometimes called the Tohoku Alps. The site also draws attention because of its blooming alpine flowers. Mt. Iide ranks among Japan’s 100 Famous Mountains.

Mt. Iide is also famous as a sacred place to the ascetic religion of Shugendō along with the Three Mountains of Dewa. In 652, En no Ozunu started the practice of the teachings on this mountain, since then many Yamabushi have visited this location. During the Meiji period, the Iide Shrine located on the summit was worshipped by local residents. Till the Pacific War, the climbing to the mountain was prohibited to women. The region used to have a local custom of considering only men who climbed the mountain before the age of 15 as grown men.