Not tall order for man who takes novel way to ascend tallest peak in each of Japan’s 47 prefectures

Climbing the highest mountain in each of Japan’s 47 prefectures is not a new feat, but Mr Hiroaki Futagami has gone about it in a way quite unlike others.

The 51-year-old touches the seawater at a river’s mouth and then runs along that river – as far as possible – all the way up the mountain that the river originated from.

According to Japanese news outlet Asahi Shimbun, Mr Futagami, an architect, completed his quest – dubbed Zero to Summit 47 – on Sept 23. He logged 48 summit attempts, including one failed bid; ascended almost 88km vertically; and covered 6,230km in distance over seven years.

The quest had popped into his head while he was looking at a mountain map, imagining the flow of rainwater down the slopes and how the river would wind its way to the ocean.

He decided that it would be fun to take a new route – from the river’s mouth to the mountain’s summit.

It was during this process that he discovered that no one else had accomplished this feat before.

He gave himself eight days for each attempt, without using any form of transport and special climbing equipment.

Tackling Japan’s highest and most famous peak, Mount Fuji in Shizuoka prefecture, he started at the mouth of the Urui river, which flows into Suruga Bay, and ran all the way to the 3,776m summit.

By September 2023, he was left with one final challenge – 3,190m-high Mount Oku-Hotakadake in Nagano prefecture. That effort saw him running 385km in eight days.

Having finished what he set out to do, Mr Futagami said he does not feel burned out by the challenge and has plans to venture abroad.

“I actually feel relieved, because I have achieved something no one else did before,” he told Asahi Shimbun.