Mount Takatsuma

Mount Takatsuma (高妻山, Takatsuma-yama) at 2,353 m (7,720 ft) straddles the border between Nagano and Niigata prefectures, in the northwest of the city of Nagano and southwest of the city of Myōkō (Niigata Prefecture), and is also the boundary between the Kanto and Chubu regional offices of the Japanese forest agency.

The mountain forms part of the Myōkō-Togakushi Renzan National Park, a natural area protected by the Japanese government. Its summit dominates the Togakushi Mountains, and is the fourth highest mountain in the national park. The mountain is one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains, and one of the 100 most famous mountains in Nagano (信州百名山). Because of its pyramidal shape, the mountain is also referred to as Togakushi Fuji.

The mountain, along with nearby Mount Togakushi and Mount Iizuna, is a sacred site for mountain-based religious sects such as Shugendo and Tendai, and the main trail includes 13 Buddhist statues, whose names remain such as Ichifudo, Gojizo, Shichi Kannon.

Due to its location near the Sea of Japan, heavy snows are frequent in winter, and creeping pine, haimatsu (ハイマツ), can be found here despite the elevation below 2500m. Other trees and plants include Japanese rowan, rhododendron, Japanese alder, Japanese wood poppy, Japanese lady bells, and rockfoils.