REPORT

At 8:30 a.m., the temperature at Kurobishi-daira was a cool 16°C (according to the Grat Quad lift station’s thermometer). This was my first trip to Happo in about two weeks, and I was surprised at how refreshingly cool it felt. As I started along the boardwalk course, the eastern sky was filled with clouds like you see here, and much of the route was pleasantly shaded.
[Happo-One Nature Trail・Boardwalk Course]

After that, however, the patches of blue sky gradually widened, and the sun shone for longer periods. I met a photographer visiting from Nagano’s Ikeda Town, who told me, “I wanted to photograph the evening view of Mt. Tsurugi and Mt. Tateyama with a sea of clouds, so I booked a stay at the Mt. Karamatsu summit hut this morning. Since it was a last-minute reservation, I had to pay an extra ¥1,000.” Between the No. 2 Cairn and the Happo Cairn (pictured), the grassy areas had already made significant progress in transitioning into autumn colors.
[Happo-One Nature Trail・No. 2 Cairn to Happo Cairn]

Perhaps because the three-day weekend had been cloudy, or perhaps because this is just how Happo is, today was bustling with people despite it being a weekday. By the way, the red-colored bush visible in the photo is the autumn-tinted oyamasoba. Just before Happo Pond, I ran into a hiker from Chiba that commented, “The weather is so nice today that I thought someone from Snownavi might be out here too. I always read your reports. Tonight I’ll stay at the Mt. Karamatsu summit hut, and tomorrow I plan to climb to the summit of Mt. Goryu.”
[Happo-One Nature Trail・Happo Cairn to No. 3 Cairn]

At Happo Pond, some of the nanakamado leaves had just begun to turn red (pictured, foreground). I overheard someone say, “Last time I came it was completely white with fog and I couldn’t see anything—but in clear weather, it’s breathtaking!” The rich aroma of drip coffee drifted through the air from a hiker who was preparing some nearby.
[Happo-One Nature Trail・Happo-ike Pond]
　　
＊Here’s a bonus video →

　　
[Happo-One Nature Trail Opening Information]
*Period … 2025/5/31 (Sat.) – 6/1 (Sun.), 6/7 (Sat.) – 11/3 (Mon.)
*Hours … Happo Alpen Line: Weekdays open at 8:00am, Weekend from 9/13 – 9/21 open at 6:30am, 9/15 and 9/22 – 9/23 open at 7:00am, Weekend from 9/27 – 10/5 open at 7:30am,Kurobishi Line: Weekdays open at 8:15am, 8/30 – 8/31 open at 4:30am, Weekend and holydays 9/5 – 10/5 and 9/22 open at 5:00am.
*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