Good day
We spent our day 4 waking up late. The sun was already up when we open our eyes and we took our time preparing for a new day with new sights waiting to be seen. The plan today was initially to visit the morning market near the Takayama old town, then the old town, before taking a 1-2 hour bus to Shinhotaka Ropeway station.
There wasn’t many shops open and we were late, so we skipped it for… Miffy. Lol.
Not many shops were open in the Old Town as well, I guess it was still early. I think it was around 10 am at the moment. So after a little more walking around, we took a bus and begin our long bus ride up the snowy mountains.
The bus ride to Shinhotaka cost around 2200 yen. Quite expensive, but the views along the way makes it worthwhile. We arrive at the sleepy ropeway station just a short distance away from the Shinhotaka Onsen. It seems like a great place to ski and stay. Will make a mental note on that.
Ropeway cost 3300 yen for a round trip ticket. Probably due to the it being winter now, the ropeway wasn’t crowded at all. The rope way consists of two parts; a shorter Ropeway 1 that goes to Nabedaira Kogen station, walk a short distance to Shirakabadaira station to take a double-decker Ropeway 2 that goes all the way up to Nishihotakaguchi station.
The top was really windy, so much so that it swayed our double decker ropeway car while we’re going up. There is a viewing deck on the top floor of the summit station, it was chilly like no other place I’ve ever experienced.
We had a simple dinner at the canteen before we decided to go outside and see how far we can go in this unfamiliar snowy landscape.. We also got ourselves a gimmicky snack; churros shaped in the Chinese character for “top” on a stick.
And Claire held on to the churros the whole time we were out exploring.
This terrace was supposed to be lower without this piled up snow, the snow was so thick that it elevated the terrace and the railings were buried. Amazing, honestly, this is the first time we’ve witnessed such a scene. But alas, the chill got to us, with the weather setting in, it soon became a almost white-out condition and we sought refuge back at the Nishihotakaguchi station.
We soon descended and the descent offered better views of the landscape. But alas, for fear of getting stranded. We took the next available bus and headed back to Takayama. Although it was a short stay up top, it was easily the climax of the day thanks to awesome snowscapes. Thanks for the view.
-Simon
