Vibrant Green Season
Discovering Hakuba's Peaks & Valleys
It's a cloudless sunny day in late May, 9:00a.m., and everyone gets on the bus at Hakuba47 departing for a tour of Satoyama. The bus gets on national highway 148 and heads north for Otari. The mountains of Hakuba can be seen through the windows, and there is still a lot of snow at the top of these giants. It almost feels like they're coming after us. The distant Northern Alps are beautiful too, but maybe it's because these mountains are close that their ruggedness comes across so directly. The mountains seen from the Matsukawa Bridge are beautiful, and I wonder why the bus doesn't stop here. " Aroundthetimethe snow starts melting in the mountains, the patterns of the remaining snow on the rock faces are called "yukigata." Long ago, people would predict the year's agricultural prospects by the condition of the snow melt. You can see patterns that look like family crests and chickens," explains the guide who has read right through us as we
gaze into the mountains. Everyone looks through the window, further entranced.
Aoni Settlement
The terraced rice paddies selected in the top 100 in Japan spread out before us. The village was selected as an "Important Preservation District for a Group of Historic Buildings" and homes of a time long past and scenery are preserved here.
Oide Suspension Bridge
The view of the Northern Alps from the bridge is a standout, even in Hakuba. The surrounding area is maintained as Oide Park. Near the ends of the bridge are thatched roof houses from the Edo Period that have been transplanted here.
Time with nature, memories of summer
"Survival" Camp
Even in the middle of summer, unlike the city Hakuba is a comfortable temperature. From around the country small children pull on their parents' hands to take them to the survival camp. The smiles of the children let loose at the foot of the grand Northern Alps are brilliant. Even kids that are normally quiet cannot hide their excitement.
The Summer Wonders of the Northern Japan Alps
For summer fun in Hakuba, it's got to be mountain climbing. The magnificent mountains of Japan's Northern Alps attract a lot of people with their overwhelming presence. The wild plants that blossomed in spring bear small fruits in summer, and the valleys covered in snow have brooks. Each season different, the mountains that present different expressions from morning to evening enchant people who come here again and again.
We took the course from Tsugaike Nature Park to Tenguhara and Kazafuki Pond, and down to Renge Hot Springs.
On this route is a particularly delicious drinking hole. These water spots are abundant in the Northern Alps.
