The is a mountain

sightseeing Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity o ...

route between Tateyama, Toyama and

Ōmachi, Nagano is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 27,559 in 11861 households, and a population density of 49 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Ōmachi is located west of Nagano, t ...

, Japan. Opened on June 1, 1971, it is long, with a difference in

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

of as much as . The Alpine Route goes through Tateyama (Mt. Tate) in the Hida Mountains with many scenic sites as well as walking trails, including Japan's largest dam, Kurobe Dam. Some stations have hotels around them and are used as bases for

mountain climbing Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...

trekking Backpacking is the outdoor recreation of carrying gear on one's back while hiking for more than a day. It is often an extended journey and may involve camping outdoors. In North America, tenting is common, where simple shelters and mountain hu ...

. From the top of the mountain, it is possible to see

Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano located on the Japanese island of Honshu, with a summit elevation of . It is the highest mountain in Japan, the second-highest volcano on any Asian island (after Mount Kerinci on the Indonesian island of Sumatra), a ...

on a clear day.

Overview

The route is composed of seven different transportation services using five different modes:

funicular A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep grade (slope), slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to ...

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

aerial tramway An aerial tramway, aerial tram, sky tram, cable car or aerial cablecar, aerial cableway, ropeway, téléphérique (French), or Seilbahn (German) is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary cables for support, with a third movin ...

, and walking. Three transport lines go through

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

s to protect them from

snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

: one funicular railway and two bus lines. One of the bus lines is the last trolleybus line in Japan, and the other was converted to all-electric buses in 2018. The bus lines are used because they do not exhaust fumes in the tunnels. During summer, shuttle buses between Toyama and Murodō are also available. The operates most lines in the route. Its official abbreviation is TKK. The word ''kankō'' (貫光) was coined by Muneyoshi Saeki, the first president of the company. According to him, ''kan'' ( 貫) means "time-space", and ''kō'' ( 光) means "outer space", while ''kan'' (貫) also (normally) means "to penetrate", as in "to penetrate Tateyama Mountains" and ''kō'' (normally) means "light". The word is a

homophone A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning or in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (past tense of "rise"), or spelled differently, a ...

to ''kankō'' (観光; "sightseeing"), possibly intentionally.

Lines and stations

:¹: Sometimes considered as a part of the route. However, most guided tours use chartered buses for this section. :²: The line runs entirely in a tunnel. :³: The line is mostly in a tunnel and operated with trolleybuses until November 2018. Image:Tateyama cable car 02.jpg, Tateyama cable car Image:Tateyama tunnel trolley bus 01.jpg, Tateyama Tunnel trolley bus Image:Tateyama ropeway 01.jpg, Tateyama ropeway Image:Kurobe cable car 01.jpg, Kurobe cable car Image:Kansai-electric-trolleybus-300.jpg, Kanden Tunnel trolley bus

Sights

The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route involves many sights. Located by Oyama peak is Oyama Shrine. This peak is better known but it is not the highest point of the mountain (Onanjiyama). Located on Murodo Plateau from Murodō Station is a shopping area and

onsen In Japan, are hot springs and the bathing facilities and Ryokan (inn), traditional inns around them. There are approximately 25,000 hot spring sources throughout Japan, and approximately 3,000 ''onsen'' establishments use naturally hot water ...

bath. The onsen on Tateyama is famously known for its use of sulfur spring water for the bath. There are also several hiking and walking paths that guide them through Hell's Valley (Jigokudani) and the other valleys. As with many volcanic areas in Japan of the same name, people cannot walk within the sulfur valley due to gas-related safety concerns. From April 15 to mid-June, there are snow walls named Yukino-ōtani, which tower anywhere from 15 to 20 meters high (roughly 50 to 65 feet). They flank the road leading to Murodo Station. There are many charter services from

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

Incheon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

and

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

during the high season to reach Murodo at this time. From Murodo, visitors can also reach Kurobe Dam, which stands at 186 meters (610 feet), making it the tallest dam in Japan. From Murodō Station, visitors should take the Tateyama Tunnel Trolleybus (10 minutes), followed by the Tateyama Ropeway (7 minutes), and finally the Kurobe Cable Car (5 minutes). From the last stop, a 15-minute walk will take visitors to the dam. Midagahara is a flat walking area filled with flowing plains interrupted by blue ponds. Near the bus stop that returns visitors to Bijodaira back down the mountain is a slightly hidden walking path. Midagahara is accessible from Tateyama Station via the Tateyama Cable Car (7 minutes) followed by Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route bus (about 40 minutes) that goes in the direction of Murodō Station. Shōmyō Falls (the tallest waterfall in Japan) is visible across the valley while traveling along the main road from Tateyama Station to the Murodo Plateau. The section between Kurobe Dam and Ōgisawa was originally made for construction of the dam, while the section between Tateyama and Kurobeko was for

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

from the beginning. Today, the entire route serves exclusively as a scenic sightseeing journey through the Japanese Alps, popular with tourists. Most travelers complete the route in one direction, either east to west or vice versa. It can be done in a single day or at a more relaxed pace, with an overnight stay at one of the lodges or hotels along the way.

References

External links

* {{Toyama transit Transport in Toyama Prefecture Transport in Nagano Prefecture Hida Mountains Roads in Nagano Prefecture Roads in Toyama Prefecture Tourist attractions in Toyama Prefecture Tourist attractions in Nagano Prefecture Tateyama, Toyama 1971 establishments in Japan

Overview

Lines and stations

Sights

See also

References

External links