Summer Info
A staff member at the Tsugaike Visitor Center told me this morning, “This is going to be an exceptional year for kobaikei-so!” Sure enough, the Watasuge Marsh (pictured) and the park’s other wetlands were filled with the striking white flower-tipped spikes of kobaikei-so rising above the vibrant summer greenery. It was a comfortably cool, mostly cloudy morning with occasional breaks of sunshine.
[Watasuge Marsh]
The flower season is clearly running ahead of schedule again this year. Chinguruma are already nearing the end of their bloom, while the bright yellow flowers of Nikkokisuge are beginning to take center stage. Along the forest trails linking the marshes, I found abundant kinugasa-so (pictured), maizuru-so, komiyama-katabami, tsumatori-so, mitsuba-oren, benibana-ichigo, and miyama-kinpōge.
[Mizubasho Marsh・Watasuge Marsh]
I ran into a group of four visitors from Taiwan who now live in Hakuba (pictured), who told me, “We always read Snownavi! The mountains are hidden by clouds today, but it’s so cool and refreshing, and the greenery is beautiful. By the way, what’s your favorite mountain for the views?” Personally, my top recommendation is the hike from beside the Tsugaike Visitor Center to Mt. Hakuba Norikura and Hakuba Oike.
[Ukishima Marsh]
The slopes of the wetlands around the Ukishima Marsh and just before the Ginmeisui spring (pictured) were covered with iwa-ichō in bloom. Their white flowers are one of the highlights of this season, while in early autumn they are among the first plants to turn brilliant shades of yellow. It also looks as though this is a bumper year for oshirabiso pinecones. From the ropeway, I could see the treetops covered with clusters of blue-green cones.
[Ukishima Marsh to Ginmeisui]
[Tsugaike Nature Park Opening Information]
*Period … 6/6 (Sat.) to 10/25 (Sun.), 2026
*Hours … Tsugaike Ropeway: Open from 8:00 a.m. (*Early morning operation start from Jul.11)
*Fees … Tsugaike Ropeway Roundtrip + Entrance Fee / Adults JPY4,000, Elementary School Students JPY2,200, One preschooler free per paying adult → Advance Discount Tickets: Adults JPY3,500, Children JPY1,950! (Skip the ticket window! Go straight to the gondola gate.)
