Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [225]
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TATEYAMA-KUROBE ALPEN ROUTE
This seasonal, 90km route, popular with tourists, connects Toyama with Shinano-ōmachi in Nagano-ken via a sacred mountain, a deep gorge, a boiling-hot spring and glory-hallelujah mountain scenery. It is divided into nine sections with different modes of transport: train, ropeway, cable car, bus, trolley bus and your own two feet. Travel is possible in either direction; instructions here are from Toyama. The website www.alpen-route.com/english/index.html has details.
The fare for the entire route is ¥10,560/17,730 one way/return; individual tickets are available. The route can be completed in under six hours one way, although you’ll probably want to stop en route; some visitors find that a trip as far as Murodō, the route’s highest point, is sufficient (¥6530 return). The route is open from mid-April to mid-November. Precise dates vary, so check with a tourist office. During peak season (August to October), transport and accommodation reservations are strongly advised.
From Toyama Station take the chug-a-lug regional Chitetsu line (¥1170, one hour) through rural scenery to Tateyama (; 475m). There are plenty of ryokan in Tateyama if you make an early start or late finish.
From Tateyama, take the cable car (¥700, seven minutes) to Bijodaira () and then the bus (¥1660, 50 minutes) via the spectacular alpine plateau of Midagahara Kōgen to Murodō (; 2450m). You can break the trip at Midagahara and do the 15-minute walk to see Tateyama caldera (), the largest nonactive crater in Japan. The upper part of the plateau is often covered with deep snow until late into the summer; the road is kept clear by piling up the snow to form a virtual tunnel (great fun to drive through).
Murodō’s beauty has been somewhat spoilt by a monstrous bus station, but short hikes take you back to nature. Just 10 minutes’ walk north is the pond Mikuri-ga-ike (). Twenty minutes further on is Jigokudani Onsen (Hell Valley Hot Springs): no bathing here, the waters are boiling! To the east, you can hike for about two hours – including a very steep final section – to the peak of O-yama (; 3003m) for an astounding panorama. Keen long-distance hikers with several days or a week to spare can continue south to Kamikōchi.
Continuing on the route from Murodō, there’s a bus ride (¥2100, 10 minutes) via a tunnel dug through Tateyama to Daikanbō (), where you can pause to admire the view before taking the cable car (¥1260, seven minutes) to Kurobe-daira, where another cable car whisks you down (¥840, five minutes) to Kurobeko beside the vast Kurobe Dam ().
There’s a 15-minute walk from Kurobeko to the dam, where you can descend to the water for a cruise, or climb up to a lookout point, before taking the trolley bus to Ogizawa (; ¥1260, 16 minutes). From here, a bus ride (¥1330, 40 minutes) takes you down to Shinano-ōmachi Station (712m). From here there are frequent trains to Matsumoto (one hour), from where you can connect with trains for Tokyo, Nagoya and Nagano.
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ISHIKAWA-KEN
This prefecture, made up of the former Kaga and Noto fiefs, offers a blend of cultural and historical sights and natural beauty. Kanazawa, the Kaga capital and power base of the feudal Maeda clan, boasts traditional architecture and one of Japan’s most famous gardens. To the north, the peninsula, Noto-hantō, has sweeping seascapes, rolling hills, crashing waves and quiet fishing villages. Hakusan National Park, near the southern tip of the prefecture, offers great hiking, though it can be tough to reach even during peak season.
You can find good overviews at www.hot-ishikawa.jp.
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KANAZAWA
076 / pop 456,000
Kanazawa’s wealth of cultural attractions makes it a highlight for visitors to Hokuriku. It is most famed for Kenroku-en, the fine former castle garden that dates from the 17th century. The experience is rounded out by handsome streetscapes of the former