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Our guide
Mount Tsukuba, at the northern end of Tsukuba, is only 877 m high but is one of Japan's best-known mountains, above all for its two peaks: Nyotai-san (877 m) and Nantai-san (871 m). People climb it every year for the view over the Kantō plain; on clear days you can see the Tokyo skyline, Lake Kasumigaura and even Mount Fuji. Unusually for Japan, it is not volcanic but made of granite and gabbro, and granite is still quarried on its northern side.
Tsukuba-Sanchō Station on the Mount Tsukuba Cable Car is about 500 m away in a straight line, so you do not have to climb all the way. We have not checked cable-car times or fares.
Written by japan-spots.com (2026-09-22) from the sources credited on this page. Distances are straight lines between map positions.
Photos
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence — see credits
- Mount Tsukuba seen from the WSW (2006) — RESPITE · Public domain · source · resized
- PlumGardenMtTsukuba — Tsukuba city municipal garden. Photograph by Akaniji ( talk · contribs ). · Public domain · source · resized
- MtTukuba Over Kasumigaura — NJM4580 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source · resized
- Mount Tsukuba panoramic view NE-S (2012-10-24) — Polimerek · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · resized
- Mount Tsukuba in winter — Saigen Jiro · CC0 · source · resized
- Mount Tsukuba Rope way cab 1 — Polimerek · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · resized
- Mount Tsukuba Rope Way 2 — Polimerek · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · resized
- Mount Tsukuba 2 — Polimerek · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · resized
- Hahanotainaikuguri — kidanymore · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · resized
- GW期間中は行列ができるケーブルカー乗り場 — Senkaku Islands · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source · resized
What this place is
Mount Tsukuba (筑波山, Tsukuba-san) is an 877 m (2,877 ft) mountain located at the northern-end of Tsukuba, Japan. It is one of the most famous mountains in Japan, particularly well known for its double peaks, Nyotai-san (女体山; lit. "female body") 877 m (2,877 ft) and Nantai-san (男体山; lit. "male body") 871 m (2,858 ft). Many people climb the so-called "purple mountain" every year for the panoramic view of the Kantō plain from the summit. On clear days the Tōkyō skyline, Lake Kasumigaura and even Mount Fuji are visible from the summit. Japanese mountains are mostly volcanic, but Mount Tsukuba is non-volcanic granite and gabbro in origin. Renowned beautiful granites are produced in the northern quarries even today. The anti-transplant rejection medication and immunomodulator tacrolimus is produced by a soil bacterium, Streptomyces tsukubensis.
Background text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
What to expect at this type of place: Mountain
Nearby station
Nearby station: Tsukuba-Sancho (Mount Tsukuba Cable Car), about 500 m from the spot in a straight line.
Worked out on 2026-09-14 from this place’s map position, using HeartRails Express station data and station names from Wikidata. The distance is a straight line, not a walking route, and says nothing about buses, transfers or timetables — plan the trip on Google Maps.
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