Tateyama Alpine Region Ski Japan

The Skiing is not over in Japan

Many of Japans Ski Resorts closed their lifts last Sunday with the end of Golden Week holidays and most Japanese peoples mind shift away from Winter pursuits into Summer escapes. Nozawa Onsen itself closed with a healthy 160cm of base up the top so there is still some good snow to be enjoyed here but would need to make your own way up!

Believe it or not some parts of the Alpine region of Japan are in their best shape right now. They have too much snow to be easily accessible in the middle of winter, with massive dumps making roads impassable and conditions unsafe.

Tateyama is one of these regions with its peak at an impressive 3015m and nearby Tsurugi at 2999m. Due to their elevation they stay colder longer, get more snow and a lot less people. It is probably not the place for the glamour set as it is more roughing it. Hiking or skinning up and sleeping in Tents or Mountain huts. But the views and conditions can be nothing short of amazing.

Tateyama Alpine Region Ski Japan

There is one very impressive Mountain Lodge in Tateyama called Murodou Lodge that is open form mid April until the end of November. Many people however choose to camp in Tents and there are some impressive sites to pitch one. Nozawa regular Jerry and friends were up there just last week and said he got two dumps of fresh snow while based up there. Even set up Japan’s highest Vegan Bar! Thanks for the great shot Jerry and Petra.

Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route

This area is also home to the world famous Kurobe Alpine, the mad photos you see around this time of year with the huge snowy walls and people walking or passing thru the middle. The route is closed all winter due to the huge and uncontrollable amounts of snow that fall across the region. But come spring around mid April they cut a track right thru the middle, which gives this amazing affect and up to 10m high snow walls.

The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route is 37km long and from bottom elevation to top covers close to 2000m of Vertical. There are a few different modes of transport you can choose to traverse the route including trams, buses and walking. There are three long tunnels to limit the impact to the mountain environment. So you can use the Alpine Route to access the breathtaking huts or campgrounds and then can base yourself there and hike and tour some of the impressive surrounding peaks of the region. Note it is not an easy downhill lift gig but lots of uphill slugging but as they say “no pain no gain!”