REPORT

Snow fell overnight and into the morning up high, and today I set out to do my last report of the season. A thin covering of fresh snow blanketed the shaded sections of the wooden boardwalk between the Mizubasho and Watasuge marshlands and the forested paths connecting each of the other marshes. Looking out over the Tsugaike Nature Park from an elevated perch revealed a landscape very different from the one I photographed 5 days ago, with almost no warm colors to speak of.
[Tsugaike Nature Park・Ginmeisui ~ Mousen-ike Pond]

The autumn colors have faded from the landscape, but the clear air, the deep blue sky, the white-capped peaks of the Ushiro-Tateyama mountain range, the white trunks of naked birch trees and the marshland ponds combined to create an extraordinary sight. I heard people in passing exclaiming their delight with phrases such as, “What an amazing view!” and “It doesn’t even look like Japan.”
[Tsugaike Nature Park・Ukishima Shitsugen]

The frost coating the wooden boardwalks through the marshlands had melted by around 10:00. However, areas of snow and frost still remained in the shaded sections throughout the forest paths, and I took care not to slip as I walked. I spoke with a staff member working at the Visitor’s Center who was patrolling the park, and he told me that he had visited Tenguhara first thing in the morning. He also mentioned that there was around 5cm of fresh snow on the ground.
[Tsugaike Nature Park・Ukishima Shitsugen ~ Ginmeisui]

The fall colors are now peaking (pictured) in the areas alongside the gondola at mid-mountain elevations. The end of the summer season has arrived quickly, with only 4 more days remaining. Thanks so much for viewing my Tsugaike trekking reports again this year. See you here, or in Tsugaike, again next year.
[Tsugaike Gondola]

*Currently, the repair work that is underway on a 120-meter section of wooden boardwalk on the eastern side of the Watasuge Shitsugen is scheduled to be completed at some point after 10/23 (Sun.). The new boardwalk will be unveiled to the public next year after the spring snowmelt.

[Tsugaike Nature Park Opening Information]
＊Business Period … 6/11 (Sat.) to 10/23/2022 (Sun.)
＊Business Hours … 8:00－16:40
＊Fees … Round trip use of the Panorama Way (gondola & ropeway) + Nature Park entrance / Adults JPY3,700, Children JPY2,100 → Adult Advance Discount Tickets JPY3,300, Children JPY1,850! (Advance Discount Tickets are usable as-is! Proceed directly to the gondola for immediate boarding.)

[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

[TSUGAIKE Outdoor Village]
＊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

reported by Snownavi