View north toward Mount Yari-ga-take, Northern Alps, near Kamikochi. The name Japan Alps was made popular for these mountains at the end of the nineteenth century by William Gowland, whose Japan Guide was published in 1888, and another Englishman Water Weston, who scaled many of the peaks in the North Alps and introduced the sport of alpinism to Japan for the first time. Until Weston set out on his expedition into unchartered areas of the North Alps, mountain climbing in Japan was purely a religious affair undertaken by Shinto, Buddhist and Shugenso priests and pilgrims.The spear-like peak of Yari-ga-take (3,180m) was not consecrated until 1826, when the Buddhist monk Banryu placed three Buddhist images on its summit, after many years of trying to scale its rocky peak. Weston conquered this peak 66 years later in 1892, and also Hotakadake (3,190m), the highest peak towering above Kamikochi. Kamikochi- the alpinists base, set on the banks of the Azusagawa River and surrounded by the highest peaks in the North Alps- was beloved of Weston for its outstanding natural beauty. A memorial in his honor can be seen in the rock face near the banks of the Azusagawa River.The original Japanese name for the North Alps is Hida. This range runs from the Japan sea coast in the north, where the mountains run right into the sea , to the volcanic peaks of Norikura-dake and Ontake in the south.