2026年7月5日、標高3メートルの山開き、参加150人July 5, 2026 — Japan's Shortest Mountain Opens Its Climbing Season to 150 Hikers

On July 5, this year's climbing season officially opened at Mt. Hiyoriyama, in the Gamo area of Sendai's Miyagino Ward. The mountain stands 3 meters tall, has a single trail, and takes about six steps to reach the summit. The ceremony, organized by a group of local residents called the Nakano Furusato YAMA School, drew roughly 150 attendees — 50 more than the year before.

Mt. Hiyoriyama was certified Japan's shortest mountain by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan in 2014. It once stood nearly twice as tall, but lost about 3 meters of elevation to the tsunami that followed the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. The climbing season opening is still held every year on the first Sunday of July, and remains a source of local affection.

This year's ceremony included the first public performance of a newly written support song for the mountain. About an hour after the ceremony ended, the day's first hikers reached the top.