Before we begin, for those of you who are unaware, Akihito, the Emperor of Japan since 1989, has officially abdicated his position. Starting from 1 May 2019, the position has been picked up by his eldest son, the new Emperor Naruhito. Thus, this article marks this blog's first post of the new Reiwa era of Japan. I express my congratulations to the new Emperor, and my hopes that he will help keep Japan awesome. And now for our regularly-scheduled article.
This article is based on a visit made on Wednesday, 16 May 2018.
Edit 11 October 2019: Updated prices to reflect the increase in Japan's national sales tax.
Previously on Sekai Ichi, I had introduced the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route, so it only makes sense that follow that up with a more detailed report of my own. Indeed, I had originally scheduled a day-trip along the route for Thursday, the 17th of May, following a day-trip to Kanazawa the day before, but looking ahead at the weather forecasts, I decided on-the-fly to swap the two days, in order to have better weather for traversing the Alpine Route. That turned out to be a good call, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
We left from Dentetsu-Toyama Station, the terminus of the Toyama Chiho Railway, at about 7 o'clock in the morning. We could have waited for the limited-express train (right) departing later that hour, but since I was worried about running out of time later on, we instead chose the regular train (left). Unfortunately, there was no seating room left on our train, meaning we had to stand against the walls for the entire hour-plus ride.
At least the views were lovely. As we rode deeper into the mountains, the trees got greener and the streams got bluer.
At our next stop, Tateyama Station, we lined up for the Tateyama Cable Car. It departs from either end every twenty minutes, giving the queues a chance to build up. TV monitors, such as those above the gate, show a loop of current weather conditions for stopping points along the route.
If one is not in a hurry to continue up the route, they could stay in town, to take in nearby museums such as the Tateyama Caldera Sabo Museum, exhibiting Mt. Tate from a geological standpoint, or further afield, the Tateyama Museum, showcasing history and art related to the mountain. Or, they could take a bus ride (20 minutes, ¥500) to Shomyo Falls, the tallest regular waterfall in Japan. During times of snowmelt, it is accompanied by Hannoki Falls, Japan's tallest seasonal waterfall.
The store was decorated with banners designed by a local artist, each representing different aspects of the Toyama region. Their designs include the sea, the mountains, the "raicho" birds, the farm houses of Shirakawa-go, the glassware of Toyama city, and the Hokuriku Shinkansen. Try to guess which is which! Presumably, they were used on certain products at the store as well, but I do not specifically recall. I quite like them, though.
A poster for the Alpine Route featured its mascots, the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Girls. From left to right, they are named Yuki Otani (大谷ゆき), Kaede Midahara (弥陀原かえで), and Mikuri Ikeno (池乃みくり). They represent the appearance of the route in Spring, Autumn, and Summer respectively, and are named after specific points along the route (the snow canyon, the Midagahara marsh, and the Mikuri pond). They're awfully cute; in fact, I'm picking up a distinct Powerpuff Girls vibe from them.
The Tateyama Cable Car is,
like the one we rode in Hakone, a funicular designed for climbing up and down hills. Maybe it's just me, but this one seems steeper than the Hakone Cable Car.
One thing's for certain, this one was more crowded.
From the cable car's top station, Bijodaira, travellers board a bus for a 50-minute ride up the mountain. Or, they can choose to stay at Bijodaira and take one of several hiking trails through the primeval cedar forest. The biggest of these trees measure 20-30 metres (65-98 feet) tall, 6-10m (20-33 ft.) in circumference, and/or are over 1,000 years old. There is also a folk legend attached to one particular tree. 1,300 years ago, when women were forbidden from climbing Mount Tate, a princess prayed to one of the cedar trees that she would be reunited with her fiance, who was the first man to have climbed the mountain. Eventually, they were re-united and married. This story contributed to the name of the area, Bijodaira (美女平, lit. "beautiful-woman plains").
As the bus ascended the mountains, the tree coverage gradually gave way to snow that had accumulated over the winter and still had yet to thaw. Many other mountains can be seen along the way, including Mount Tate (立山,
Tate-yama, not pictured), the 3015-metre (9,892-foot) peak which gives the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route part of its name.
About halfway through the bus ride, somewhere before this picture was taken, is Midagahara, a marshland situated about 1,900 metres (6,233 feet) above sea level. It has a couple of looping boardwalk trails from which hikers can view alpine flowers from June through September, and autumn foliage, largely in the form of marsh grasses and bushes that turn golden-orange, from late September through October. However, these paths are closed during periods of snow, which included the time of my visit in mid-May.
As we approached our destination, the Murodo highlands, the walls of snow on either side of the road towered over our bus. Here's a preview of what to expect.
But the snow canyon will have to wait. Until then, I shall leave you with a sign-off selfie, taken with me and my grandmother while we were waiting at Tateyama Station. I will, of course, return to coverage of Murodo and its snow canyon, next time on Sekai Ichi!
Tateyama Caldera Sabo Museum
Hours: Open from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM. Closed Mondays.
Cost: ¥400.
Address: 68 Ashikuraji Bunazaka, Tateyama-machi, Toyama-ken 〒930-1405
Access: 1 minute on foot from Tateyama Station. Head straight from the exit to Tateyama Station. At the end of the sidewalk, the museum will be on your left.
Website:
(English) (Japanese)
Tateyama Museum
Hours: Open from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM. Admission ends 30 minutes before closing time. Closed Mondays.
Cost: ¥300 for Tenji-kan, ¥100 for Yobo-kan, ¥400 for Mandala Park, and ¥650 for all three.
Address: 93-1 Ashikuraji, Tateyama-machi, Toyama-ken 〒930-1406
Access: Take the Chitetsu Tateyama line to Chigaki Station (from Dentetsu-Toyama: 55 minutes, ¥1,040; from Tateyama: 15 minutes, ¥420). As long as you do not backtrack, this is free with an Alpine Route ticket. From Chigaki Station, take an Ashikura-ji Line bus to Oyama Jinja-mae (雄山神社前, 5 minutes, ¥200
(schedule)). Note that this bus is unavailable on Sundays. The museum can also be reached in a 30 minute walk from Chigaki Station. Turn right from the station and continue up Route 6 for 2km. The Tenji-kan will be on your left, and the Yobo-kan and Mandala Park are down a side alley, 3 minutes down on your right.
Website:
(English pamphlet) (Japanese)
