The tour starts from either Kanazawa or Toyama, not both on each day

This tour will start at Kanazawa Station at 8:00 A.M.(if your pick-up is Toyama the meeting time is 9:00 A.M.), where your guide will meet you in front of the Information Centre near the Shinkansen Ticket Gates. You will have the opportunity to put your belongings in a coin locker or send your luggage to the next hotel as well if you feel the need. Once you have left the inside of the station building, we will hop on the company bus and head towards the Tateyama Alpine Route and the Snow Walls.

After about an hour and a half we will arrive at the base of Mt. Tateyama at Oyama Shrine. This was where most hikers and pilgrims would start their ascent to the top of the mountain, the same area where we will be going later. Mt. Tateyama was worshipped as a place of hell and heaven and in this town, you can see the hell side of the mountain. Enma-do is unusual as it is a place to worship Enma, the god that decides who goes to heaven and hell. Down the ravine slightly is also the bridge that represents the divide between the world of the living and the world of the dead. After that little bit of exploration we will hop back on the bus and restart our journey to the top.

As the bus slowly makes its way up the mountain it will finally come up to what this area is known for, the snow walls. Over the course of the year the size of the walls decrease in size over the summer to be rebuilt during the winter months. Once we arrive at the station, we will break for lunch. Feel free to look around and have something at Murodo or a bento/boxed lunch that you brought! After eating we will head back to walk along the great white barriers. It takes about 35 minutes to walk along the route and come back, but you can take more time if you want.

The final part of the tour before heading back is the highlands. You will have about an hour and a half to walk around, shop and enjoy the natural paradise that is the “Roof of Japan”. There are many interesting views and formation around the station and throughout the highlands. Have a snowball fight, make a snowman or walk to some of the intriguing formations. It is simply one of the most stunning and unforgettable places you’ll ever be!

Around 15:30 we will all meet up again and prepare for the descent back down to Tateyama. Enjoy the views as we head down using the bus and cable car again before boarding the tour bus and heading back to Kanazawa. We should be back at Kanazawa Station by around 19:00 (and Toyama by around 18:30) where we will say our goodbyes!

Note: Please be aware that times are just estimates and can vary based on the weather conditions.