Tateyama

Overview

A splendid, remote summit in the heart of the Japanese Kita (North) Alps. Made very easy (albeit expensive) by use of the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpen route. Volcanic scenery and an aboundance of posh mountain lodges make this a pretty tame, but still worthwhile, peak.

Getting There

All but purists will cave in and fork over a lot of cash to take the "Tateyama-Kurobe Alpen Route", which dumps you most of the way up the mountain via a mess of cablecars and funicular railways. This route traverses the Kita Alps so you can start at either Shinano-machi on the East side, along JR Oito line (connecting Tokyo/Osaka to Hakuba) or from the West side, from the JR Hokuriku line (along the Japan Sea coast).

Many "special packages" are offered from JR and other travel agents as this tourist route is very famouns and sees crowds by the millions.

See the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpen Route website for more info.

Once you arrive at Murodo, start walking upwards on the obvious and signposted route for a few hours until you reach the summit.

Accommodation

There are dozens of lodges within walking distance of the Murodo station. For a more mountain experience, traverse over to the Tsurugi-dake side and camp over there, where there is a handy but much more basic mountain hut where you can buy a cold Asahi beer for a little nightcap.

Routes

It's a few hours up to the summit from the Murodo station. You can continue a few hours North along the ridgeline towards Tsurugi-dake and drop down that side. Or traverse halfway and drop back down the Murodo side for a more scenic way back - on this route you pass by some pretty interesting active volcanic features before arriving back at Murodo.

Images

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