A lot of people have probably seen scenes of buses driving on the road, sandwiched between two massive walls of snow.
This is the Yuki no Otani (great valley of snow) created near the Murodo Terminal of the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route.
The wall of snow, 10 - 15m in height, causes an astounding contrast of blazingly bright sun reflected off the snow and shadows caused by the great height of the walls.
Yuki no Otani can be enjoyed until June in most years, and visitors can walk through until May 31.
Beside Yuki no Otani, the peaks and meadows of the high-elevation Alpine Route are still dusted with snow.
In early summer, the sun shines off the snow against a clear blue sky, providing a scene entirely different from the one viewed in winter.
At this time of year, the Special Natural Monument, the thunderbird, is in its breeding season. One can enjoy the rare sight of males fighting for territory, crying majestically.
Of course, there is also the new green of the forests found near the low-elevation start of the Alpine Route, and there one can enjoy the white and yellow flowers of mountain meadow plants such as tamushiba (magnolia salicifolia) and mansaku (hamamelis). The snow gradually melts higher and higher toward the summits, and when Yuki no Otani melts, the mizubasho (Asian skunk cabbage) and shakunage (rhododendron) begin to bloom, giving the Alpine Route different, beautiful scenery.
Reference Website
▽Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route
http://www.alpen-route.com/
