Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route

Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route

The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route is a sightseeing route that travels along the mountain range, and it's frequented by close to one million people every year.
It starts at Tateyama Station, which sits at an elevation of about 475 meters, and then you transfer between the Tateyama Cable Car and the Kogen Bus along the route.
From the window along the ride you can see the Tateyama Sugi cedar trees, a rare sight even in Japan, Shomyo Falls, featuring the highest waterfall drop in all of Japan, and Midagahara, a wetlands area that has been officially designated as a Ramsar site.
In about an hour you will arrive at Murodo, which sits at an altitude of 2,450m.

Murodo has the highest altitude train station in Japan, and facing forward in front there is a dynamic mountain range landscape that sits 3,000m high.
Japan's oldest mountain hut ,"Tateyama Murodo," is situated in Murodo and it's a nationally designated Important Cultural Property.
The area also features "Mikurigaike Onsen," Japan's highest altitude hot springs, as well as "Tateyama no Hyoga," a glacier that's the first to be nationally certified in Japan. These are just a few examples of the amazing nature, history, and culture there is to take in around this area.

The trip along the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route is packed with sightseeing spots to check out, including the "Kurobe Dam," an arched dam that is the highest in altitude of its kind in Japan, as well as the "Daikanbo" area for some amazing scenic views.
When the Alpine Route opens up in its entirety starting on April 15th, you have the until the end of November to enjoy the magnificent natural landscape through the seasonal changes, including an expansive valley covered in snow, the deep green colors of summer, the gorgeous autumn leaves as they change color, everlasting snow, and the "raicho," or "thunderbird," a nationally designated ptarmigan in Japan.