Futagoyama: Steep Limestone in Chichibu, Mostly 5.11 and Up, Wet in the Rainy Season and Summer | Japan Climbing Crags

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Futagoyama (二子山, "twin mountain") sits in Ogano, Chichibu District, Saitama Prefecture. It is a double summit of two limestone peaks, Higashi-dake (East Peak) and Nishi-dake (West Peak), with climbing sectors scattered across both. CLIMBING-net (in Japanese) gives the wall angle as 90–135 degrees, and most routes fall in the 5.11 and 5.12 grades; only 8 are 5.9 or easier. Mountain Project opens with "One of Japan's premiere limestone crags."

Maintenance, rebolting and relations with the local community are handled by the Ogano Climbing Association (小鹿野クライミング協会, in Japanese). ROCKTOPO puts it plainly at the top of the page: "岩場利用に関する注意事項等、ホームページを確認して利用してください" (check the association's website for usage rules before you go). That is the single most important step for this crag.

What kind of crag is it

The association's first-aid handout describes the character of the crag: development in the French style began in earnest in the 1980s, and "傾斜が強く高難度、かつ、ランナウトしたルートが多く作られました" (many routes are steep, hard and runout). It reports long falls, fractures from swinging into the wall, and cuts from sharp holds.

History, per CLIMBING-net: the West Peak was climbed early on, while the East Peak was so steep that even aid routes were rare. In 1988, with a limestone boom underway and a forest road discovered that led right below Matatoge (股峠, the saddle between the peaks), climbers from Saitama, Gunma and Tokyo converged and put up more than 100 routes within a year or two. Development then moved to the West Peak: the Hokora area, around Chuo-ryo, Rosoku-iwa, and later the north face of the West Peak.

Route count and grade spread (checked 2026-10-12)

The Japanese sites disagree substantially, so here are all three:

• CLIMBING-net: 160 routes. Up to 5.9: 8; 5.10s: 29; 5.11s: 86; 5.12s: 44; 5.13s: 13; 5.14s: 2. This is guidebook data with no stated update year.
• ROCKTOPO: 220 routes: 213 face, 3 crack, 4 multi-pitch. Face routes by grade: ungraded 2, 5.2+ 7, 5.10a+ 31, 5.11a+ 62, 5.12a+ 62, 5.13a+ 35, 5.14a+ 13, 5.15a+ 1.
• theCrag: the area page shows 182 routes, while its summary says "More than 200 routes from 5.10 to 5.15."

Who it suits: climbers solid at 5.11 and above who are comfortable on steep rock with spaced bolts. There is little below 5.10, so it is a poor main objective for beginners.

Grades: the association uses French

The association's page on Futagoyama grading (in Japanese) says the West Peak regeneration (development and maintenance) project "フレンチグレードを採用しています" (has adopted French grades), with an explanatory document dated 20 March 2021. Expect to see YDS grades like 5.12a alongside French grades like 7b at the same crag. theCrag says the new grades are "quite soft"; that is the theCrag editor's view, not something the association states.

When to go

ROCKTOPO has no season field, and theCrag's seasonality chart is empty. People do climb in winter: the association held its 2025 meetup on 27 December at the Yumijo Buttress, and its 2026 fire warning specifically mentions "冬季のクライミングでのバーナーやコンロ類を使用する際にも細心の注意を" (take great care with burners and stoves when climbing in winter).

Bottom line: avoid the seepage of the rainy season and summer; the other months are worth considering, with cold and ice to plan for in winter. None of these sources narrows down which months are driest.

Getting there

Public transport: two buses and a hike

According to the Ogano town website (in Japanese), the Seibu limited express from Ikebukuro to Seibu-Chichibu takes about 80 minutes, then a Seibu Kanko bus takes about 35 minutes to central Ogano. For Futagoyama you change at the Ogano Yakuba (Ogano Town Office) stop to the G13 Shigasaka Line and ride to the end of the line at Sakamoto.

The Seibu Bus G-route timetable PDF (in Japanese; downloaded 2026-10-12, no revision date printed in the file) shows these departures from Ogano Yakuba to Sakamoto:

• 5 runs on weekdays, 4 on weekends and holidays, about 35 minutes.
• On the G-line table toward Ogano, runs marked 「志」 connect to the Shigasaka Line for Sakamoto; on the table toward Seibu-Chichibu, runs marked 「志」 connect from Sakamoto.

The Ogano Tourism Association's Onouchi icicles access sheet (in Japanese, uploaded December 2025) also lists connecting times on the same Shigasaka Line, and some of them differ from the Seibu Bus PDF. Service is sparse and changes, so plan the return in particular, and check the latest times on Seibu Bus's Chichibu route page before you go.

From the bus stop you walk. Yama to Kogen Chizu Web (in Japanese) describes it: from Sakamoto bus stop, walk back a little, take a side road along the Niheigawa for about 20 minutes to the national road, turn right at the trail entrance where there are signs and a bio-toilet, follow the road a short way, and the Futagoyama trailhead sign is on the left; from there the trail follows the stream up to Matatoge. The Ogano Tourism Association (in Japanese) describes the same route from the Sakamoto trailhead to Matatoge. Neither source gives a separate time for Sakamoto to Matatoge; they only give times for the full hiking loop (about 4 hours per the tourism association, 5 hours 15 minutes per Yama to Kogen Chizu).

theCrag's approach section says "Access only possible by car," which doesn't match the bus-and-trail route described by the two Japanese sources above. theCrag doesn't explain why, so both accounts are given here.

Driving

• Expressway: the Ogano town website says to exit the Kan-Etsu Expressway at Hanazono IC, take Route 140 toward Chichibu, use the Minano-Yorii Bypass (toll) to its end at the Kamimakita intersection, and continue to Ogano: about 35 minutes from Hanazono IC to Ogano, or about 60 minutes without the bypass.
• Into the mountains: CLIMBING-net says "坂本からの林道が開通したので、国道299号からのアプローチが一般的になった" (since the forest road from Sakamoto opened, approaching from Route 299 has become the norm): from Route 299 you drive up the forest road to the trailhead below Matatoge.
• Parking: three sources, three numbers. The ROCKTOPO parking page says roadside parking for "約 5 台" (about 5 cars); theCrag says about 10 cars at the roadside, plus about 5 more at a spot 5 minutes before the trail; Mountain Project says about 10 cars.
• Parking to crag: Mountain Project says the trail is 30 seconds from the parking, and after five minutes it splits for the East or West Peak.
• Forest road status: in 2021 the association posted that the forest road to the Matatoge trailhead was partly closed for construction, and pointed to the Chichibu Agriculture and Forestry Promotion Center's forest road closure page (in Japanese). That page, dated 24 July 2026, lists the Nishi-Chichibu Line as closed between Tsuchisaka Pass and Yaku Pass, with "国道299号分岐～矢久峠までは通行可" (passable from the Route 299 junction to Yaku Pass). These sources don't make clear which section the trailhead road falls in, so check that page again before you go.

Rules to know before you go

The association's requests for climbers entering Futagoyama (in Japanese; version of 11 June 2022) is the main rulebook. Key points:

• Fire: "焚火等は厳禁です" (campfires and the like are strictly prohibited). In late April 2026, traces of what looked like open fires were found at two spots in the climbing area and on the approach; after consulting with Ogano town, the association put up signs in Japanese and English (notice of 2026-06-03).
• Night: don't walk at night without a headlamp, don't descend alone at night, and "やむを得ない場合を除いて夜間のクライミングは控えて下さい" (avoid climbing at night unless unavoidable). In the stacked sectors where people climb above one another (West Peak's Shirakabe Face, Sumikabe, Chuo Odan Band and Peep Wall; East Peak's Nidan Ganpeki), don't walk at night at all, headlamp or not, and go with someone experienced the first time.
• Rockfall: never roll stones off the trail or slope toward the valley; report loose rock or broken holds to the association.
• Quickdraws and gear: leave draws on bolts for one season at most; some anchors have only ring hangers with no carabiners, so you need to know how to re-thread. Don't take fixed carabiners from anchors or anti-swing points.
• Trees and new routes: don't cut trees; consult the association's board before developing anything new.
• Toilets: go before heading to the crag; if you have to go at the crag, pack out waste and paper.
• Parking: leave room for emergency vehicles to pass and turn around, and watch for rockfall from the slope.
• Voluntary closures (association website as of 2026-10-12):
  • East Peak Right Wall: rebolting is still in progress and the routes no longer match the topo, so on 2026-05-31 the association asked climbers to "当面の間右壁でのクライミングを控えていただく" (refrain from climbing on the Right Wall for the time being), with reopening planned for October.
  • Plant protection: climbers are asked not to use the routes 「神々のトラバース」 and 「オービス」; signs are posted on site.
  • Rosoku-iwa, 「黄昏を追いかけて」: in 2022 a bolt came out along with the rock around it, seriously injuring a climber; the association removed the hangers and closed the route.

Toilet facilities are reported differently: CLIMBING-net lists public toilets as "無" (none), while the association's 2026 guide says the parking lot at the trailhead below Matatoge has a simple toilet managed by Ogano town's Town Development and Tourism Section. Bring your own paper, and in winter climbers are asked to help haul water from an intake near the forest road entrance on the Route 299 side and add antifreeze. CLIMBING-net is guidebook data; the association's guide is more recent.

Safety: the association notes poor phone reception at the Matatoge trailhead parking and on the forest road, and at the base of the Yumijo Buttress and Nidan Ganpeki. On holidays, emergency admissions rotate between hospitals, so call ahead; the association also has a nearby hospitals page. The Ogano Tourism Association's mountain information warns "熊の出没に注意してください" (watch out for bears) on Futagoyama and lists slips and falls from the past year. The JFA's national list of access-issue areas does not currently include Futagoyama.

Notable sectors and routes

ROCKTOPO divides the crag into 10 sectors (checked 2026-10-12; face route counts in brackets): 弓状エリア Yumijo area (58), 祠エリア Hokora area (31), 本峰下部・墨壁・白壁・黒壁 (24), 広場エリア Hiroba area (18), 西岳北面 West Peak north face (18), ローソク岩 Rosoku-iwa (17), 東岳右壁 East Peak Right Wall (16), 中央稜 横断バンド周辺 (14), 中央稜周辺 around Chuo-ryo (12), ピープウォール Peep Wall (5). Per the association's materials, Hokora, Chuo-ryo, Rosoku-iwa and Shirakabe/Sumikabe are on the West Peak; Hiroba, the Yumijo Buttress and Nidan Ganpeki are on the East Peak.

ROCKTOPO's popular routes:

• 中央稜 Chuo-ryo (top grade 5.9)
• 悪魔のエチュード (5.10b)
• シリアル (5.11a)
• ノースマウンテン North Mountain (5.12a)
• 任侠道 (5.13a)

Since 2021 the association has opened new sectors on the West Peak (Hanage area, Kopipu area, Chuo-ryo Big Terrace area and others), with topos available only on its members' page.

Where to look things up

References

• Futagoyama | CLIMBING-net (in Japanese)
• Futagoyama | ROCKTOPO (in Japanese)
• Futagoyama parking | ROCKTOPO (in Japanese)
• Ogano Climbing Association home page (in Japanese)
• Ogano Climbing Association notices (in Japanese)
• Requests for climbers entering Futagoyama (2022-06-11, PDF) (in Japanese)
• Futagoyama trailhead parking toilet guide (PDF) (in Japanese)
• 2025 meetup first-aid workshop handout (PDF) (in Japanese)
• Futagoyama grading | Ogano Climbing Association (in Japanese)
• Nearby hospitals | Ogano Climbing Association (in Japanese)
• Access to Ogano | Ogano Town (in Japanese)
• Chichibu area routes and timetables | Seibu Bus (in Japanese)
• G Ogano Line and G13 Shigasaka Line timetable (PDF) | Seibu Bus (in Japanese)
• Onouchi Gorge icicles access sheet (PDF) | Ogano Tourism Association (in Japanese)
• Sakamoto to Futagoyama | Yama to Kogen Chizu Web (in Japanese)
• Hiking | Ogano Tourism Association (in Japanese)
• Mountain information | Ogano Tourism Association (in Japanese)
• Forest road closure information | Chichibu Agriculture and Forestry Promotion Center (in Japanese)
• National list of access-issue areas | Japan Free Climbing Association (in Japanese)
• Futagoyama | theCrag
• Futagoyama | Mountain Project