The City of Nagano & Zenkoji Temple

It was a fairly easy ride to the city of Nagano today. Both the cities of Matsumoto and Nagano lay at around the same altitude so the road to Nagano was mostly level.

The road to Nagano City

I covered the 76km to Nagano in a few hours and was in the city by lunchtime. Checked into a decent business hotel next to JR Nagano station and then went off to take a look at the city`s main attraction - Zenkoji Temple.

Zenkoji Temple is apparently one of Japan`s oldest Buddhist temples and like Matsumoto Castle, it is also a designated National Treasure. From JR Nagano station, a straight road led directly to the entrance of the temple.

The outer gate of Zenkoji Temple

Unfortunately, I did not get to see the inner gate of the temple as it was under repair. Apparently, this is the first time the gate is being repaired in the Heisei period. According to the guide at the temple, repairs started in late 2002 and are expected to be completed by the end of this year. The repair work takes such a long time due to the intricate woodwork involved in the construction of the gate.

The inner gate that was under repair

The main hall of Zenkoji Temple

Inside the main hall of the temple, there were scores of visitors. Some were there just for the sightseeing but many others were there to pray. At the entrance of the temple, there was a wooden statue of a famous Buddhist disciple (not sure whats the name). Apparently, if you had an ailment in any part of your body, you could have it healed just by touching the corresponding part on the statue! Most parts of the statue had been worn smooth by the hands of countless visitors and according to the guide, the face of the statue had been recently replaced because all the features had been worn off by the touching!

Too bad photography was prohibited in the temple... wanted to take a picture of that statue... haha...

Total Distance to date = 1,590km

Karasu-jo - The Crow Castle

Left Kamikochi at around noon today. According to the map it was a 50km downhill ride all the way to Matsumoto City. I had expected to take around 3 hours to get to Matsumoto, but it was even faster than expected!

Going down Kama Tunnel at around 50km/h was thrilling! The previous day, it took me more than 30 minutes to go up, but the trip down took less than 5 minutes.... After leaving Kama Tunnel, the road to Matsumoto City was a series of another 15 downhill tunnels. Without hairpin curves like in the Norikura Skyline Road, I coasted at around 40km/h for almost an hour before the descent tapered off into a flat road as I entered Matsumoto City.

Road to Matsumoto City

The tunnels cut through quite a few mountains

Reaching Matsumoto City just before 3pm, I checked into Su-e-Hirokan Hotel, which was just next to Matsumoto Castle. Of course, I put down my stuff and immediately went to check out the famous Matsumoto Castle.

Matsumoto Castle is one of the 4 castles designated as National Treasures in Japan. The others are Himeji, Hikone and Inuyama. Matsumoto Castle is also known as Karasu-jo, or Crow Castle because of its black and white theme. The castle building consists of a lower tower and the main tower which is 6 storeys high.

Karasu-jo

Below, you can see a picture of a musa-hashiri. These wide corridors built along the perimeter of each level in the castle were purposely made wider for samurai in full armor to run through. This allowed the warriors to quickly move from point to point in the castle to defend it against external attackers.

Musa-hashiri

View of Matsumoto City from the top floor of the main tower in Matsumoto Castle

Kamikochi - Heart of the Japan Alps

After the usual Japanese breakfast at Hirayu Prince Hotel, I set off for Kamikochi via Abo Pass.

Breakfast at the Hirayu Prince Hotel

After the Norikura Skyline Road the previous day, going up Abo Pass didn`t seem so difficult. It was around 8km to the top of the pass and it took a little less than 2 hours. The weather was good and the air was fresh, so it was a great climb up!

Start of the uphill climb through Abo Pass

At the top of Abo Pass (1,780m above sea level)

The view from Abo Pass

From the top of Abo Pass, it was a 7km downhill, hairpin descent to the base of Kama Tunnel - entrance to Kamikochi. The descent was marked by 15 hairpin curves, and each curve had a signboard showing the number of curves left! Rather interesting...

Similar to the Norikura Skyline Road and Norikura Tatami-daira, private cars were restricted from entering Kamikochi. The only way in was either by taxi, public bus, or in my case, bicycle. The entrance, Kama Tunnel, is a 3km long tunnel that slopes uphill at a gradient of 16%. Inside, there was a 50cm wide footpath used by bicycles and pedestrians. 50cm was about the width of my bike with all the panniers on, so it was a little precarious.... hahaha...

Although there were no other cyclists or pedestrians using the tunnel, it was still rather slow going as I had much difficulty pedaling up the steep incline with my overweight bike...

Entrance of Kama Tunnel

Inside the Kama Tunnel

After almost half an hour inside the tunnel, I finally emerge on the other side into Kamikochi. It was still a 6km ride to the actual bus terminal where my accommodation for the day was.

On the Kamikochi side of Kama Tunnel

The short ride to the bus terminal was rather pleasant as traffic was limited to the rare bus or taxi. Took me about 30 minutes to finally reach the bus terminal.

Taisho Lake

View of Mount Yakedake from Taisho Lake

Leaving my luggage at the lodge, Kamikochi Nishitoya San-So, I take a hike around the beautiful surroundings.

Kamikochi is located in a valley within the Northern Japan Alps mountain range. Through it, runs the Azusa River. This river was created by repeated eruptions and lava flows from many of the once active volcanoes in the area such as the Hotaka Peaks and Mount Yakedake.

The snow covered Hotaka Peaks

Clear mountain water in the Azusa River

From my accommodation at Kamikochi Nishitoya San-So it ｗａｓ a 2 hour hike to Myojin Lake. I did not want to pay the 250yen entrance fee to see the lake and the temple inside, so I bypassed the entrance booth and took pictures at the nearby riverbank instead.

Mount Myojindake

Evening by the riverbank

On the way back to the ryokan, I pass by the Weston Relief. Walter Weston was a missionary and mountaineer from England who was one of the first to ascend the many peaks of the Japan Alps. He was so impressed with the beauty of these mountains that he named them the Japan Alps, after the Alps in Europe.

Every year, on the 1st of June, a small festival commemorating Weston is held at Kamikochi. This festival also marks the beginning of the hiking and mountaineering season in the Japan Alps National Park.

The Weston Relief

Standing on Kappa Bridge with the Hotaka Peaks in the background

After a whole day of hiking, I return to the lodge for a hearty dinner and a good rest.

Norikura Skyline Road

Today is the day I attempt to climb onto the Roof of Japan via the Norikura Skyline Road. This road only recently reopened in May and it is usually closed for more than half the year due to extremely heavy snowfall in the higher parts of the mountains.

Leaving my stuff at Hirayu Prince Hotel where I would be staying later in the night, I set off for the start of the Norikura Skyline Road. To get there from the onsen village of Hirayu, first I needed to climb 5km! It was a hard climb and I`m glad I did not attempt the Skyline Road with all my luggage... I would never have made it to the top!

The Norikura Skyline Road is apparently the highest public road in the whole of Japan and it is closed to personal vehicles. The only way to get to the end of the road, is to either take a taxi or a bus to Norikura Tatami-daira. From Norikura Tatami-daira, hikers then start off on their treks to the nearby mountain peaks.

The winding uphill road to the start of the Norikura Skyline

Finally reaching the beginning of the Norikura Skyline Road after 1 hour of climbing from Hirayu Onsen, I meet a group of cyclists who were also going to the end of the skyline to Norikura Tatami-daira Bus Terminal.

Speaking to Taicho, an IT engineer, he told me that the annual Norikura Skyline Hill Climb would be held the next day, so they were there one day early to practise the route. Setting off together, we did a relaxed pace of around 5km/h. The average gradient of the road was around 15% so we took our time to climb.

Start of the Norikura Skyline Road

Taicho and his girlfriend (who also road a roadbike) coming round a corner

Taking a break to take some photos

As we climbed higher and higher, the air started to grow thinner and it also became significantly colder. When I left Hirayu Onsen village, the temperature was around 15 degrees Celsius. By the time I was halfway up to Norikura Tatami-daira, the temperature had already dropped to around 8 degrees Celsius. Luckily, we were constantly pedalling so this kept us relatively warm still. Most of the cyclists were also just wearing their cycling tights and jerseys.

If you look at the picture below, you`ll see that the road is slanted upwards to the right. This isn`t cause the photographer tilted the camera... Its cause of the gradient of the road!

About half way up to the top

Almost there - 1/3 more to go!

With about another 5km to go to the end of the road, we began to pass by snow-covered slopes! This was my first time touching snow in more than 10 years! According to Taicho, this area is almost always covered with snow throughout the year. In the winter, the snow piles up more than 7m high so they have no choice but to close the roads.

Crossing into the snow-covered region

Cycling in valleys of snow and ice

About 1km from the top, it started to become very foggy

As we approached Norikura Tatami-daira, we saw that there were people skiing! This area is the only place where you can still ski in the summer. Unfortunately, in the winter the snow is too thick to build a ski resort here, so there aren`t any chairlifts.

Skiiers take the bus up to Norikura Tatami-daira with all their ski equipment then they walk to the top of the slopes to ski down. Then when they reach the bottom, they repeat the whole process again! Tiring huh... but no choice if you want to ski in the summer! hahaha...

Can you see the skiiers on the slope?

Walking up and skiing down

3 hours after we had left the start of the Norikura Skyline Road, we finally reach the end at Norikura Tatami-daira. Suddenly, Taicho removed a huge pot from his backpack and opened it to reveal the `oden` that was inside! haha... he had carried the entire team`s lunch on his back throughout the climb as training!

Someone else produced a gas stove then we had steaming hot `oden` at 2,800m above sea level. The hot food and soup was really a welcome treat in the sub-zero temperatures!

The Team - Sakamichi Jitensha Tsukintai (Roughly translated as the Uphill Chiongsters)

A bag of coconut cookies I got as a gift from one of the cyclists

Me, Taicho-san and our bikes

After lunch, the team went back down to the beginning of the road to settle their registration and administration for the race the next day. As for myself, I initially wanted to take the 3hr round trip hike to the peak of Mt. Norikuradake. Unfortunately, according to the tourist office, the path to the peak was still covered in deep snow, so it would be difficult to go without proper mountaineering gear. So, I had to make do with climbing the nearby Mt. Fujimi.

The climb up to the top of Mt. Fujimi

Reaching the peak of Mt. Fujimi (2,842m above sea level), the view was spectacular! Although it was not as high as Mt. Norikuradake, from Mt. Fujimi I could see almost all the peaks of the Japan Alps. Standing here, I realise why the Japan Alps region is called the `Roof of Japan`!

Mt. Fujimi - 2,842m above sea level

Eating my bento from Eitaro Ryokan at the top of the mountain

A great view of the surrounding peaks

The path to the top of Mount Norikuradake

Norikura Tatami-daira Bus Terminal

After my second lunch of onigiri and eggs, the fog started to clear so I made my way down from Mt. Fujimi back to Norikura Tatami-daira. Along the way, took some really nice shots now that the sky was much clearer.

Entrance of the path to the top of Mt. Fujimi

Mount Fujimi

My first time walking in snow since 1995

The beautiful mountains that surround Norikura Tatami-daira

After almost 2 hours at Norikura Tatami-daira, I decide to head back down to Hirayu Onsen. The downhill was ride was great! Even pressing both my brakes, I was still going at around 25km/h. Its a good thing cars weren`t allowed on that road! hahaha...

It took me a whole 4 hours to get from Hirayu Onsen to Norikura Tatami-daira, but the trip back down took a mere 30mins! The climb up was really tough, but the view was definitely worth every drop of sweat!

Next stop - Kamikochi, heart of the Japan Alps National Park.