REPORT

The peak of Iwatake, which sits at 1,289 meters above sea level, has entered the full-fledged autumn foliage season! However, though the weather forecast called for clear skies, the HAKUBA MOUNTAIN HARBOR deck was wet with rain this morning, and the surrounding scenery was shrouded in clouds (pictured). The temperature was 10℃ at around 9:00, and it felt chilly due to the light wind blowing from the southeast.
[Hakuba Iwatake・HAKUBA MOUNTAIN HARBOR]

Luckily, the clouds suddenly cleared around 10:30, revealing a clear autumn day. This dramatic development was appreciated by the visitors, and I could hear people on the Yoo-Hoo! Swing shouting things like, “What an amazing view!” The three major Hakuba peaks (pictured), have not yet received any snowfall, but they revealed a beautiful gradation of colors from the red leaves on the mountainside to the green of the foothills below.
[Hakuba Iwatake・IWATAKE GREEN PARK]

The red leaves of the momiji (Japanese maple) and urushi (Japanese sumac) provided a nice accent to the scenery while riding the 5sen South lift (pictured). The leaves were 70% of peak around the top of Iwatake, and 50 to 70% along the 5sen South line and in the Hakuba Hitotoki-no-mori area. Colors were at 50 to 60% of peak in the Nezuko-no-mori area, which is a good place to go to see the autumn leaves from now until early November.
[Hakuba Iwatake・5sen South]

I spoke with two people from Saga Prefecture (pictured), who told me, “This is our first time coming to Iwatake. We arrived before lunch, had a meal at THE CITY BAKERY, and are now relaxing while enjoying the view. The weather is nice and the scenery and autumn leaves are wonderful! After this, we’re going to move on to Nagano City, and tomorrow we’re going to try going to Zenkoji Temple.” At around 1:30 p.m., there was a line of about 5-minutes to ride the gondola.
[Hakuba Iwatake・IWATAKE GREEN PARK]

[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