chubutoyama and nagano
Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route
The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route is a mountain route of cable cars, buses and a ropeway that crosses the Northern Japan Alps between Toyama and Nagano prefectures, in the Chubu region, rising to 2,450 metres at Murodo.
- Prefecture
- Toyama and Nagano
- Region
- Chubu
- Journeys
- The Custom Tour of Japan
overview
A day spent crossing the roof of Japan by cable car, ropeway and tunnel.
The Alpine Route runs about thirty-seven kilometres from Tateyama station in Toyama to Ogizawa in Nagano, over the Tateyama range and past the Kurobe Dam. It was opened to travellers in 1971 and is made of six kinds of transport, each chosen for its piece of mountain: a cable car up the first cliff, a bus across the high plateau, an electric bus through a tunnel beneath Mount Tateyama, a ropeway hung across a valley without a single tower, a cable car running underground, and an electric bus through the tunnel that was dug to build the dam.
Tateyama has been a sacred mountain for more than a thousand years, one of the three holy mountains of Japan with Fuji and Hakusan, and pilgrims once climbed it to see the hells and paradises of Buddhist teaching in its volcanic landscape. Today the route lets any traveller reach the high plateau of Murodo, at 2,450 metres, with no climbing at all: a stone-paved walk around a crater lake, alpine flowers and, on a clear day, a horizon of peaks.
The route is open from spring to late autumn and closed in winter. In spring the road across the plateau is cut through snow so deep that the walls of the corridor at Murodo can stand close to twenty metres high, the Yuki no Otani, and later in the year the plateau turns green and then gold. The crossing takes most of a day, and we arrange for your luggage and your car to meet you on the far side.
see and do
What to see in Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route
Tateyama Cable Car
The first stage of the route, seven minutes up a steep slope from Tateyama station to Bijodaira, through a forest of old cedars.
Midagahara
A high plateau of wetland and alpine meadow crossed by the highland bus, protected as a Ramsar wetland, with level boardwalks among its ponds.
Shomyo Falls
The tallest waterfall in Japan, falling some 350 metres in four stages, seen from the highland road and a viewpoint below.
Murodo
The highest point of the route at 2,450 metres, a plateau beneath the peaks of Tateyama with a stone-paved walk of about an hour around its ponds.
Mikurigaike
A crater lake on the Murodo plateau, deep blue and still, holding the reflection of the Tateyama peaks.
Yuki no Otani
The snow corridor of Murodo, where the road is cut through walls of snow that can rise to some twenty metres in spring, walked on foot along a section of the road.
Tateyama Ropeway
A ropeway of about 1.7 kilometres from Daikanbo to Kurobedaira, hung in a single span without towers, with the Kurobe valley and the Ushiro Tateyama peaks across the void.
Kurobe Dam
The tallest dam in Japan at 186 metres, finished in 1963 after seven years of work, with a walk across its crest and an observation deck above the green waters of Lake Kurobe.
Lake Kurobe cruise
A sightseeing boat on the green reservoir behind the dam, among the mountains of the upper Kurobe.
experiences
The best of Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route
The crossing at an easy pace
A full day on the route with a guide, at an easy pace, with time on the plateau at Murodo and at the dam, and your luggage sent ahead to the hotel on the far side.
A walk around Mikurigaike
An hour on the stone-paved path around the crater lake at Murodo, among alpine plants and the snow patches of the peaks, with the ptarmigan of the Alps sometimes crossing the path.
The snow corridor
A walk between the snow walls of Yuki no Otani, the white rising far above your head and the sky a strip of blue between them.
An onsen at the end
A night at an onsen ryokan in Omachi or Unazuki, at either end of the route, after a day in the mountains.
plan your visit
Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route on a journey through Japan
- How long to stay
- The crossing takes a full day, about six to eight hours with time to stop; spend the night before and after near either end of the route.
- Getting there
- On the Toyama side, Tateyama station is about an hour from Toyama by the Toyama Chiho Railway, and Toyama is about two hours ten minutes from Tokyo by the Hokuriku Shinkansen. On the Nagano side, Ogizawa is about an hour and a half by car from Matsumoto or from Nagano station.
journeys
Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route on a private journey
We shape a journey to Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route as a Custom Tour of Japan: created around your party alone, on your dates, with a Tour Director beside you.
questions
Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route: questions answered
How long does the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route take?
About six to eight hours end to end with time to stop at Murodo and the dam. Even without stops, the changes between stages make it at least half a day.
When is the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route open?
From mid April to late November. The route is closed in winter.
Do you need to be fit for the Alpine Route?
No. Every stage is by cable car, bus or ropeway, and the walks at Murodo and across Kurobe Dam are short and level, with a few steps.
How tall are the snow walls on the Alpine Route?
In spring, the snow walls of Yuki no Otani at Murodo can stand close to twenty metres high.
What happens to your luggage on the Alpine Route?
It can be sent ahead by delivery service to your hotel on the far side, and a private car can be driven round to meet you, so you cross with only a small bag.
Can you do the Alpine Route from Kanazawa?
Yes. Kanazawa is about twenty minutes from Toyama by Shinkansen, and from there the route can be crossed in a day, ending in Nagano prefecture for the night.
Can Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route be part of a private tour of Japan?
Yes. The Custom Tour of Japan is created around your party alone, on your dates, with a Tour Director beside you, and it can include Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route. For independent travel, the Expert Japan Itinerary plans every day for you.
chubu
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Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, planned for you.
Tell us when you would like to travel and what draws you to Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route. We will answer with a journey shaped around it: one of our tours, a journey of The Private Collection, or a Custom Tour of Japan created around your party alone.