Aka-dake in April, there’ll still be some snow about. It’s hard to say how much, though. I wouldn’t advise going up there without crampons, though.

You can probably get up and back in a day if you get an early bus. The hut at the summit only opens in May, but the Gyoja hut in the col might be open earlier. Sadly, there are no maps in English that I know of…

nice blog with many interesting tours and nice gear section. Seems like you know Japan quite well.
I’ll be in Nobeyama in April and have only few days afterwards in Japan. To avoid long additional travels I would love to hike one of the peaks close by, which could be the Aka-dake for example.
So may I ask you a couple of questions about it?

You made the tour at the end of May and still needed axe and crampons off-ways. Is it possible to hike the mountain in April at all? And if, maybe even without glacial gear and experience?
It seems that all huts are still closed during that time of the year. Is there any chance to rush up and down in a day trip? (I would start quite early…)
Are there any maps of this area that are not only in Japan but also in English?

I know, you are not my tour guide, so sorry if all my questions annoy you, but probably you have minute to answer them anyways

Thanks in advance

Jochen