REPORT

As I ascended, I was thrilled to break through the clouds! On the trail, I met a hiker descending from Mt. Karamatsu, who told me, “I stayed up on the mountain last night. There was a stunning sea of clouds spreading out below the Northern Alps this morning. Around this time of year, however, the clouds rise quickly.” Sure enough, less than 15 minutes later, Mt. Shirouma and the other major peaks (pictured) were swallowed up by the clouds.
[Happo-One Nature Trail・Mountain Climbing Course]

The upper section of the wooden boardwalk course (pictured) reopened on 7/8 (Tue.), and the lower section reopened today 7/11 (Fri.), meaning the entire Happo-One Nature Trail is now fully open. Only a short 2-to-3-meter patch of snow remains along the upper boardwalk, but even that can be easily crossed with just ordinary trekking shoes or hiking boots.
[Happo-One Nature Trail・Wooden Boardwalk Course]

Along the straight stretch of boardwalk in the foreground of the second photo, the watasuge cotton grass was at its peak. In areas where snow lingered the longest, vibrant spring flowers like yukiwari-so and miyama azumagiku were in full bloom. Around the No. 3 Cairn, miyama murasaki (pictured), kibana Karamatsu-ba, and tegata chidori were flowering beautifully, while the west-facing slope of the Happo-ike Pond was adorned with blooming iwa-kagami and chinguruma.
[Happo-One Nature Trail・Happo Cairn～No. 3 Cairn]

By around 9 a.m., the sun began to be obscured by clouds, and the occasional light, cool breeze felt quite refreshing. A hiker I met on the west-side deck of Happo Pond commented, “I hurried up here hoping to see the peaks beyond the pond, but I didn’t make it in time. Still, once the sun went behind the clouds, the air cooled off, making it very comfortable to be outside.”
[Happo-One Nature Trail・Happo-ike Pond]

＊Flowers in bloom … Ibuki Jakoso, iwa-shimotsuke, iwa-kagami, urajiro yoraku, kibana Karamatsu-ba, shirobana kumomanigana, Tateyama utsubogusa, Tateyama Rindo, tani-utsugi, chishima gikyo, chinguruma, tegata chidori, toki-so, nobine chidori, Nikko-kisuge, Hakusan taigeki, Happo usuyuki-so, hosoba tsumekusa, miyama azumagiku, miyama murasaki, yamabuki shoma, yukiwari-so, yotsuba shiogama, watasuge
＊Flowers beginning to bloom … akabana shimotsuke-so, oyama soba, kijimushiro, takane nadeshiko, Happo takane senburi

　
＊Yamabuki-shoma is currently the standout flower along the entire Happo Nature Trail. Nikko-kisuge daylilies are peaking around the Kamaike Marsh.
＊Early morning lift operations begin tomorrow, 7/12 (Sat.)! The Happo Alpen Line will start running from 7:00 a.m., and the Kurobishi 3rd Pair Lift will begin as early as 4:30 a.m.! (Tomorrow, I’ll be aiming to summit Mt. Karamatsu.)
＊Currently, the highest elevation restrooms available are at Usagidaira Terrace and the Cafeteria Kurobishi. Due to water shortages, restrooms at Happo-ike Sanso are limited to overnight guests only.

[Happo-One Nature Trail Opening Information]
*Period … 2025/5/31 (Sat.) – 6/1 (Sun.), 6/7 (Sat.) – 11/3 (Mon.)
*Hours … Happo Alpen Line (8am － *Early morning operation starts from 7/12) *Kurobishi Line starts from 7/1
*Fees … Happo Alpen Line Roundtrip / Adults JPY3,400, Elementary School Students JPY2,200 → Advance Discount Tickets: Adults JPY3,000, Children JPY1,850! (No need to exchange at the ticket window! You can proceed straight to the gondola.) Kurobishi Line Roundtrip / Adults JPY2,300, Elementary School Students JPY1,400.
(*One preschooler free with each paid adult. The second preschooler will be charged at the normal children’s rate.)

*Hakuba Happo-one will be reported 1－2times a week
*To Visitors Requesting Original Data of Our Photographs.

reported by Snownavi