Mount Iwaki

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Stratovolcano in Aomori Prefecture, Japan

title: "Mount Iwaki" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["volcanoes-of-honshū", "stratovolcanoes-of-japan", "mountains-of-aomori-prefecture", "volcanoes-of-aomori-prefecture", "ajigasawa,-aomori", "hirosaki", "hanami-spots-of-japan", "mountain-faith", "holocene-stratovolcanoes"] description: "Stratovolcano in Aomori Prefecture, Japan" topic_path: "geography/japan" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Iwaki" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Stratovolcano in Aomori Prefecture, Japan ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox mountain"]

Field	Value
name	Mount Iwaki
native_name
other_name	Tsugaru Fuji
Okufuji
photo	Iwakisan 02.jpg
photo_caption	From the north, with apple orchards in Hirosaki in the foreground
country	Japan
state_type	Prefecture
state	Aomori Prefecture
region	Tōhoku
range	Ōu Mountains
elevation_m	1624.6
elevation_ref
prominence_m	1362.0
prominence_ref
map	Japan Aomori Prefecture
map_size	280
listing	List of mountains and hills of Japan by height
List of volcanoes in Japan
100 Famous Japanese Mountains
Ribu
location	Aomori Prefecture, Japan
coordinates
type	Stratovolcano
volcanic_arc	Northeastern Japan Arc
geology	Andesite
last_eruption	March 1863
::

Mount Iwaki is a stratovolcano located in western Aomori Prefecture, Tohoku, Japan. It is also referred to as Tsugaru Fuji and less frequently, Okufuji due to its similar shape to Mount Fuji. With a summit elevation of 1625 m and a prominence of 1362 m it is the highest mountain in Aomori Prefecture.

Mount Iwaki is listed as one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains in a 1964 book by mountaineer and author Kyūya Fukada. The mountain and its surroundings are located within the borders of Tsugaru Quasi-National Park.

Name

There are various theories about the origin of the name "Iwaki". Two hold that its name is Ainu in origin, the first is that it comes from (god's home), the other is that it is a distortion of the Ainu word for rock, . Yet another theory is that the name Iwaki is an archaic way of saying "stone castle" 石の城.

In addition to being called Mount Iwaki, the mountain is also widely nicknamed "Tsugaru Fuji", and less frequently "Okufuji", due its conical shape that bears similarity to Mount Fuji. It was also dubbed "Peak Tilesius" in honor of German naturalist, Wilhelm Gottlieb Tilesius von Tilenau in 1805 by Adam Johann von Krusenstern during the first Russian circumnavigation of the Earth, though this name had dropped out of use among Westerners by 1858 in favor of its native name.

Geographic setting and description

With a summit elevation of 1625 m, Mount Iwaki has the highest peak in Aomori Prefecture and rises 1322 m above the plains at its base. The peak is 18.2 km south-southwest of central Tsugaru; however, the mountain is located largely within the city of Hirosaki, but the northwestern slopes of it are part of the town of Ajigasawa. The peak is 14.8 km west-northwest of central Hirosaki.

Geology

Mount Iwaki is a roughly symmetrical andesitic stratovolcano, rising in relative isolation from the plains at the base of Tsugaru Peninsula. Its summit crater is two kilometers wide, and it has three lava domes on the western and southern flanks. The mountain has been active frequently in historic times, with very frequent activity consisting mostly of small to moderate phreatic explosions during the Edo period. The volcano's last known eruption was on 23 March 1863. Hirosaki University has maintained an observatory with 18 telemetering stations on the mountain since 1981.

Outdoor recreation

Climbing

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/View_from_Mt_Iwaki_in_Aomori_Japan.jpg" caption="View from the summit of Mount Iwaki"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Mount_Iwaki_Relief_Map,_SRTM.jpg" caption="Relief Map"] ::

Mount Iwaki's summit, at 1625 meters, can be reached only by hiking, but the length and duration of the hike depends on the route. From Iwakiyama Shrine, it takes approximately four hours to hike to the top. The trail starts from inside the shrine, before the large gates on the left. The easier and more popular route follows Tsugaru Iwaki Skyline, a tolled road, up to a lift. The skyline road starts from Aomori Prefecture Route 3 on the southwest side of Mount Iwaki. At the end of the road there is a chair lift. From the top of the chair lift it takes around 30–40 minutes to hike to the mountain's summit.

References

"Iwaki-san, Japan".
"Japanese Archipelago - World RibusWorld Ribus".
{{cite gvp
"Hyakumeizan, Hiking Japan!". Japan Gazetteer.
(10 October 2013). "岩木山の紅葉が少しづつ始まってます". City of Hirosaki.
Davey Young. (15 September 2017). "Views both old and new of Aomori's Tsugaru". The Japan Times.
"岩木山". Weblio.
Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern. (31 December 1813). "Voyage Round the World, in the Years 1803, 1804, 1805, & 1806". C. Roworth.
Colton, G. W.. (1855). "Colton's Japan : Nippon, Kiusiu, Sikok, Yesso and the Japanese Kuriles.". Colton.
Alexander von Humboldt. (1858). "Kosmos: Entwurf einer physischen Weltbeschreibung, Volume 4". J. G. Cotta.
{{google maps. link
{{google maps. link
(August 1996). "28370 - 283271". World Organization of Volcano Observatories.
"Touring Mapple 2007 (Tohoku region), Simap, 2007 (in Japanese)
Rowthorne, C. et al.: "Japan (8th edition)", Lonely Planet Publications, 2003

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