“Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route” is the world’s leading mountain sightseeing route connecting Toyama Prefecture and Nagano Prefecture through the northern Alps with mountains at the altitude of 3000 m level. Every season has a new highlight and you can enjoy magnificent nature from the top of the cloud at any season. One of the most famous corridors the Snow Corridor, stretching for about 500m around Murodo Terminal, offers many things to see such as a snow wall of around 18-20m or a massive igloo. A walk to enjoy through towering snow walls is especially popular and attracts many international/domestic tourists annually. Open from mid-April to mid-June.
If you enjoy the calmness during the sunset, you can’t miss visiting Murodo, which is known as the highest altitude railway station/bus terminal, is well equipped with hotel and commercial facilities as it is in the centre of the surrounding area. When you visit there, the mind-blowing sunset is a must-see. The sun slowly sets in a sea of clouds, phenomenally turning the sky from orange, pink, red through to purple. The sunset view from Murodo Station, the highest altitude railway station in Japan, is incomparable!
Moving ahead to Daikanbo, there is ropeway that gives a magnificent view of the alpine, besides this it is about a 10 minute bus ride from Murodo Terminal, where there is an observatory on the roof of the station and you can enjoy the beautiful panorama of the Tateyama Mountain Range and Kurobe Lake’s emerald green sheen. Kurobe Dam built at the Kurobe Lake is well known as the largest Arch dam in Japan.
One can also experience Shirakawago, a village decorated with the traditional Japanese Gassho-zukuri buildings. The village, Shirakawago, still preserves the exclusively Japanese architectural style, gassho-zukuri, intact and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The changing scenery of the seasons is very stunning and the area also offers tasty local food and a natural hot spring.
Yet another must-see attraction is the Nagoya Castle is a prominent castle, which was constructed on orders of Ieyasu Tokugawa. The castle is fabulously covered with cherry blossom in spring and coloured leaves in autumn, changing the look with the seasons. Honmaru Goten – (Core area of castle) which is said to be the best masterpiece of the castle tower of modern times has finished a long restoration work and has been open to tourists, since 2018.
If one is lucky, they can spot the snow monkey, the monkeys of the Jigokudani Monkey Park can proudly claim to be as famous as the Snow Walls of the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route. Located a little away from the Alpine Route but still readily accessible, the Jigokudani Monkey Park has achieved global fame due to the curious behaviour of the resident monkeys – the only troop of monkeys in the world known to (naturally) bathe in hot springs.
Situated in the Chubu Sangaku National Park, Kamikochi is a pristine and beautiful alpine valley open to the public from mid-April until mid-November each year. The valley follows the Azusa River while some of Japan’s tallest mountain peaks rise to over 3000 meters. From the Kamikochi Bus Terminal, walking trails span out along the valley – suitable to anyone of reasonable fitness – before more advanced hiking and mountaineering trails lead into the mountains. Considered the jewel of the Chubu Sangaku National Park, visiting Kamikochi is one of Nagano’s most memorable experiences – a truly special place of natural and spiritual importance.
This remarkable journey through the Japanese Alps takes visitors through valleys, up mountains and past all manner of breathtaking scenery.
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