REPORT

After a warm, almost hot Golden Week, cold air returned from 5/7 (Tue.) to 5/9 (Thu.) bringing some snow to the higher elevation areas of eastern Japan. The temperature dropped down to -0.5°C at dawn this morning, and the day progressed with clear skies and a cool southwesterly wind. I spoke with a woman from Gunma Prefecture (pictured), who told me, “The scenery and the weather are both wonderful! I’m really glad I came.”
[Hakuba Iwatake・HAKUBA MOUNTAIN HARBOR]

Spring foliage has gradually spread up the mountainsides of the HAKUBA VALLEY and reached elevations of around 1,400m during the last week, which means that Hakuba Iwatake, which tops out at 1,289m, is now surrounded by spring green. The new leaves of the beeches and maples (pictured) were a beautiful shade of bright green, and flowers such as tani-utsugi (weigela) and okame-no-ki (viburnum furcatum) were beginning to bloom.
[Hakuba Iwatake・Nezukonomori]

In contrast to the summit area, which was crowded with tourists right from the start of the morning, Hakuba Hitotoki-no-mori was relatively empty, even at 10:00 a.m. I enjoyed time relaxing on the terrace of CHAVATY HAKUBA (pictured) while gazing out at the Northern Alps and the foothills completely covered in green.
[Hakuba Iwatake・CHAVATY HAKUBA]

I had a chat with sisters from Nagano City (pictured), who commented, “We came to Iwatake for the first time because we heard there were great places where we could take our dog. We just got here, but we’ve been taking lots of photos of our dog.” The grassy lawns at the IWATAKE GREEN PARK and Hakuba Hitotoki-no-mori in Hakuba are quite expansive.
[Hakuba Iwatake・IWATAKE GREEN PARK]

　
*Hakuba’s big spring event, the HAKUBA YOO-HOO! FESTIVAL, will be held on 5/18 (Sat.) & 5/19 (Sun.), as well as 5/25 (Sat.) and 5/26 (Sun.), and will feature live music performances by ISEKI (formerly of Kimaguren), Gospellers, DEEN, Sukima Switch, Hitomi Yaida, and more!

[Hakuba Iwatake Mountain Resort Information]
* Season … Apr. 19 (Fri)－Nov.17 (Sun), 2024
* Hours … 8:30 a.m.－5:00 p.m.
* Price … Entrance Fee (Gondola and 5th line south fee included) / Adult: JPY2,400, Child: JPY1,300, Pet: JPY700

*Hakuba Iwatake will be reported 2－3times a week
*To Visitors Requesting Original Data of Our Photographs

reported by Snownavi