REPORT

Tateyama Murodo still has plenty of snow remaining in May. In addition, a roofless two-story open bus called “Skybus Toyama” began operation today, 5/12 (Fri.), providing even better views of the 11-meter-high snow walls of the Yukino no Otani. (*Until Sunday, May 21). Today’s Murodo-daira (pictured) had clear skies and no wind, and was buzzing with both tourists and backcountry skiers.
[Murodo-daira]

From Murodo, it was a 15-minute walk over moderately soft granular snow to the Mikurigaike Observatory (pictured). The ice covering the pond had started to melt, and I overheard tourists in waterproof sneakers and trekking shoes commenting on how beautiful the color of the water was. The snow had melted on the summer hiking trail along the ridge from Mikurigaike Onsen to the east side of the pond, revealing the ground below.
[Murodo-daira・Mikurigaike Pond]

As I walked along the summer path, enjoying the cool, refreshing air, I came across a raicho (rock ptarmigan, pictured). A nearby hiker said to me, “Raciho have a really cute call, too.” Afterward, I climbed up to the area just before the Ichinokoshi Hut, and by the time I returned to the Murodo terminal area, I had seen a total of seven ptarmigans.
[Murodo-daira]

The temperature at 8:00 a.m. was only 1°C, but the strong sun had me sweating as the day went on. (Don’t forget your sunglasses!) I ran into a snowboarder (pictured), who told me that he saw a raicho for the first time, and was even lucky enough to see one flying. In other news, the “Snow Tunnel” at Daikanbo has been open since 5/11 (Thu.).
[Hiking Trail to Mt. Oyama]

　
[Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route]

＊Address … Omachi-shi, Nagano  / Tateyama-machi, Toyama
＊Business period … April 15, 2023 – November 30, 2023
＊Ogizawa Station parking lot … Passenger car JPY1,000/day  (There is also a free parking lot.)
＊Required time … About 1 hour by car from Hakuba Village to Ogizawa Station
＊Transportation expenses from Ogizawa to Murodo … Round trip adult JPY12,300, child JPY6,150
　　
　reported by Snownavi