Tsugaike Nature Park / Partly Cloudy2022.Sep.10
Skies were cloudy at the foot of the mountain early this morning.The gondola began to rise above the clouds as it slowly gained elevation, and a vast sea of clouds (pictured) was the incredible view that greeted us as we finally broke through. Later on, I heard several visitors on the Tsugaike Ropeway looking out over the sea of clouds and exclaiming how beautiful it was and how happy they were that they had come.
[Tsugaike Gondola]
It seemed that most of the early morning visitors were hikers heading up into the mountains in the direction of Hakuba Oike. I spoke with one who told me, “Good morning. I’m doing a day hike up to Hakuba Oike. It’s already a little hot now that the sun has come up.” Despite it being a weekend, there were relatively few people out and about in the Chubu Sangaku National Park’s Tsugaike Nature Park, and I was able to enjoy a quiet and relaxing stroll.
[Tsugaike Visitor’s Center]
Inside the park, both the trees and the marsh areas were tinged in shades of yellow, and the shrubs and grasses of the marshes in particular seemed to be in full autumn mode (pictured). The red buds of the Iwashobu flower stood out across the Mizubasho and Watasuge marsh areas. I heard from a group of hikers who commented on the fact that it was still to early for the peak fall colors, but that they would come back to try and catch them. (*Fall colors are expected to begin peaking around 9/22 (Thurs.))
[Tsugaike Nature Park・Watasuge Shitsugen]
The sunshine brought with it a return of the scorching summer heat, so I was especially appreciative of the cool breeze blowing up from the valley to the south as I arrived to the Yase-One Ridge (pictured) at the far end of the park. Currently, preparation for repair work is underway* on the small bridge at the entrance of the Mizubasho Shitsugen and on a 120m section of boardwalk on the east side of the Watasuge Shitsugen.
[Tsugaike Nature Park・Yase-One Ridge]
*The route on the eastern side of the Watasuge Shitsugen is passable until 9/12 (Mon.), but beginning on 9/13 (Tue.) the area under repair will be closed to thru traffic and visitors will need to turn back. Work on the bridge at the entrance of the Mizubasho Shitsugen will begin once the repairs to the Watasuge Shitsugen are complete. (The route is open until then.) The completion date for both sections is still undetermined.
[Hakuba Tsugaike WOW! Opening Information]
＊Business Period … 6/11 (Sat.) to 10/23/2022 (Sun.)
＊Business Hours …9:00－16:00 (Last entrance 15:00, open daily during August, irregular schedule during September)
＊Fees … Amidasu (60 min.) Adults JPY2,000・Children JPY1,800 / Tobidasu (One Time) JPY1,000 / Fumidasu (One Time) JPY800 / Kabedasu (One Time) JPY500 / Kogidasu (One Time) JPY2,000 / Pochadasu Adults JPY2,800・Children JPY2,500
＊Business Period … 7/15 (Fri.)－10/23/2022 (Sun.)
＊Facilities … GLAMPING FIELD TSUGAIKE, LANTERN CAMPING FIELD TSUGAIKE, Hakuba Tsugaike WOW!, Tsugaike Ropeway, Dog Run, Tsugaike Golf Center
*To Visitors Requesting Original Data of Our Photographs
*Tsugaike Nature Park & WOW! will be reported 1－2 times a week
