An app that answers “This season, this mountain — what should I bring?”
Enter the altitude of the mountain you are climbing and the date, and it builds a packing list that fits those conditions.
From day hikes up to long traverses of 9 nights and 10 days. For iPhone and iPad; free, no sign-up.
Japanese only.
The app’s screens and content (item names, explanations and warnings) are in Japanese only,
and it is available on the Japanese App Store only.
Screens
On iPad too
Higher up, the seasons run ahead
In the same November, low mountains are still in autumn while 2,500 m peaks are already in midwinter.
Yamajitaku keeps its own seasons for each altitude band, and changes what you carry depending on
whether that mountain, on that day, is in spring, summer, autumn or winter.
Below 1,000 m — spring Mar–May / summer Jun–Aug / autumn Sep–Nov / winter Dec–Feb
1,000–1,500 m class — spring Mar–May / summer Jun–Aug / autumn Sep–Nov / winter Dec–Feb
1,500–2,500 m class — spring May–Jun / summer Jul–Aug / autumn Sep–Oct / winter Nov–Apr
2,500 m class and above — spring Jun / summer Jul–Aug / autumn Sep–Oct / winter Nov–May
For risky seasons, it tells you why
Lingering-snow season (high mountains, April–June) — frozen to ice in the morning, rotten slushy snow by midday. It can be more slippery than midwinter
Autumn into winter (October–November) — a single cold snap turns the mountains fully wintry. Huts close, and there is nowhere left to escape to
What it does
Rebuilds your list from about 110 items, based on altitude, season, trip length (day hike to 9 nights and 10 days), type of stay and age group
Three levels — essential, recommended and good to have — plus a one-line note on why each item is on the list
Set the number of changes of clothes all at once: “no change”, “one set of underwear only” or “change every day”
An estimate of the weight you carry, checked against your body weight (tent trips use a separate standard)
For 4 nights and 5 days or longer, it points out that the plan has you carrying everything, and shows what you can cut by using hut meals and hut shops
Meal planning for tent trips. Stack up foods and the weight and calories are totaled
A climbing plan as a PDF. The mountain name, dates, itinerary and gear come from the trip; you only add the members and emergency contacts
Decide who you will check in with after the hike and by when, and get a message ready for the person staying behind. A notification comes one hour before the deadline
Sunrise and sunset for each day, and a guide to when to start walking so you finish in daylight. It can also estimate walking time from a GPX file
On the day of the trip, “until sunset” and the check-in deadline are shown on the Lock Screen
A weather forecast adjusted to the summit altitude, and a review of your gear against the forecast (rain, snow, cold, wind)
Share group gear with your companions and calculate the weight of your own pack
In Hokkaido and Tohoku (northern Japan), bear spray and bear warnings
A pre-departure checklist, and a notification the day before you leave
Shows your gear re-sorted in “packing order” (bottom, against your back, top, lid, outside). The printable PDF can also be in category order or packing order
Gathers gear you don’t own yet into a “to buy” list and lets you look for shops right there (advertising)
Open the trailhead in Apple Maps or Google Maps / export as text or GPX
iCloud sync, and backup export and import
Your data is yours.
What you enter is saved only on your device and in your own iCloud.
It is never sent to the developer’s servers. No account is needed.
Questions
Is it free?
Yes. There are no in-app purchases, and no ad SDK is included.
Item details and a few other places have links to search results on Amazon, Rakuten Ichiba and Yahoo! Shopping. A referral fee may be paid if you buy something through them, so they are labeled “広告” (advertising) in the app.
Can I change what is on the packing list?
Yes. You can freely add and delete items and fix their names and weights. You can add items in each category,
and register items you type in yourself. Even if you change the conditions and rebuild the list,
the items you have changed yourself stay as they are.
Can I use a mountain that is not in the list?
Yes. Enter its name and altitude by hand, and the altitude band is set automatically from the altitude.
You can pick 296 peaks from the list, centered on Japan’s 100 Famous Mountains (Nihon Hyakumeizan) and the 200 and 300 Famous Mountains lists
(search by name, kana reading or region).
Can I import into YAMAP or Yamareco?
YAMAP and Yamareco (Japanese hiking services) offer no public way to send plans in from outside, so there is no direct link.
Instead, you can export the plan and packing list as text and paste it as is into a YAMAP activity journal,
a Yamareco trip record or plan, or the notes field of Compass (an online climbing-plan service). You can also export GPX (with the mountain’s location as a waypoint).
Where can I submit the climbing plan?
The plan you make can be taken out as a PDF and as text. Use it in whatever way the place you submit to accepts it:
paste the text into the form on the online service Compass, email it to the prefectural police, or print it and drop it in the box at the trailhead.
It is also reassuring to give the same plan to your family or workplace.
The names and contact details you enter are saved only on your device (and in your own iCloud) and are never sent to the developer.
Does it work on iPad?
Yes. It has a layout made for iPad and works in landscape too.
With the same Apple ID, iCloud keeps it in step with your iPhone.
How many nights can I plan for?
Anything from a day hike up to 9 nights and 10 days. For 4 nights and 5 days or longer,
it tells you that food and fuel are being counted on the assumption you carry all of it, and shows how hut meals and hut shops
could reduce that. This is because the longer the traverse, the further the weight check drifts from reality if the plan still has you carrying everything.
Is there an Android version?
Not at the moment.
What about switching to a new device?
If iCloud sync is on, just sign in with the same Apple ID on the new device and everything will be there.
You can also export a backup from the app’s settings. Save the exported file anywhere — iCloud Drive, Google Drive or
OneDrive — and restore it on the new device with “Load from backup” (バックアップから読み込む).
Notifications don’t arrive
Check that notifications are turned on in the device’s Settings → 山じたく (Yamajitaku) → Notifications.
In the app, Settings (設定) → Before-departure reminders (出発前の知らせ) shows what is scheduled.
Notifications are only sent for trips that start tomorrow or later.
A note on safety
The packing lists and warnings are a guide built from general information on hiking gear.
What you need changes with the route, weather, fitness and experience. Please make the final decisions yourself.
Submitting a climbing plan and taking out mountaineering insurance are strongly recommended. When in doubt, calling it off or turning back is the right answer.
Privacy
Yamajitaku collects no information that identifies you. It contains no ad SDK, no analytics and no tracking.
See the privacy policy for details.
Contact
Questions, bug reports, requests and mountains you would like added are all welcome.
