Hi, everyone! I went back to Japan last May and visited some new places I had never been before. One of them is Tateyama Alpine Route. The experience was very memorable to me and I really recommend you to do the tour when you're in Japan between April - June!
On this post I want to share my tips to do 1 day trip from Tokyo (so you don't need to spend the night there) .
First of all, Tateyama Alpine Route Tour can be done throughout the year, but the famous "snow walls" is only available from April - June.
1. TICKET
You can purchase the tour ticket from major train stations & airport. I purchase mine at JR Shinjuku Station Travel Service Center (located at New South Exit). The price is 9000 YEN/ person. The ticket covers all your transportations from Nagano/Toyama to Toyama/Nagano. BUY Max. D-1 !
That means, from Tokyo to Nagano / Toyama (where you can start the Tateyama Alpine Route Tour) and from Nagano/ Toyama to go back to Tokyo, you have to buy shinkansen ticket! Luckily, I have a JR Pass that cover my shinkansen tickets! If you don't have a JR Pass, this day tour might turn too expensive.
2. ITINERARY
This tour consists of many stops and different transportations. They will take you from land to top of mountain, then go down to land again. The tour will take approximately 7 hours (can be more or less depending on how much time you spend at each stop.)
I did lots of research before the tour to prevent any mishaps as the tour is quite expensive. I read that it's RECOMMENDED to start the route from NAGANO and go back from TOYAMA instead of starting from Toyama. Most tour services start from Toyama, hence you might experience long queues for the ropeways and cable cars.
Nagano Station
I booked my shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagano at 07.20 am. I arrived at 08.43 a.m. After that, we start the tour by taking the (1) Alpico bus from Nagano Station to Ogizawa Station that departs at 09.00am. (please see the route image above, but start from right to left.)
You SHOULD take this shinkansen because the last bus departing from Nagano Station (to do this tour as a day trip) is at 10.30am. If you start the tour too late, you will be rushing to take the next transportation in the tour without sight seeing.
(I'm sorry that it's all crumpled LOL. CLICK TO ZOOM!)
In Nagano Station, you can go to their Travel Service Center to grab the tour's schedule pamphlet ! The pamphlet is so important because it writes all transportations' schedule throughout the trip. As we're doing a 1 day trip, we CAN'T MISS the last bus/any transport or else we have to spend a night there.
Once you've started the tour and hopped on the bus, the key is only to remember the next bus/transport's schedule that will take you to the next destination! ;)
One of the ropeways that took us to the top!
Kurobe Dam is one of my favorite stops. We had to climb lottttsss of stairs but it's worth the view!
Yup, I went with my college bestie and her aunt & grandma on this trip!
We were inside the cable car!
Don't worry! There are few small restaurants / food stands and souvenir stops at every stop.
Yay! The Snow Wall was indeed beautiful. Why is it only available from April - June? Because in July - October, the ice has melt and there's not any snow yet. The winter season lasts until March and the snow will be too thick! When the Ice starts melting in April, they will "build" the snow wall!
After sight seeing the snow wall, we went "down" by bus and another ropeway before finally taking the train from Tateyama Station to Toyama. I arrived at my last stop (Toyama Station) at around 6pm. My shinkansen to Tokyo was at 7.37pm. The journey took 2 hours and 19 minutes. If you don't get this train, the last shinkansen to Tokyo from Toyama is at 9.20pm (but you'll arrive in Tokyo almost midnight!).
Overall, please visit this place if you happen to visit Japan in April - June! I thought 9000 yen (around USD100) was expensive at first. But after seeing the view throughout this trip, I think it's cheap!
You can read more detailed informations from tripzilla or jrtateyama.
