REPORT

Clouds were hanging over the mountains this morning, but I set out for the Hakuba Oike alpine lake as planned. At 9 a.m., the temperature outside the Tsugaike Visitor Center was a cool 22°C, but with almost no breeze on the climb to Tenguhara, I found myself sweating heavily early on. I met two hikers from Omachi City (pictured) who told me, “We always read your reports! We’re heading up Mt. Hakuba Norikura, and if the weather looks good, we’re hoping to continue on to Hakuba Oike.”
[East Slope of Mt. Hakuba Norikura]

The vegetation at Tenguhara was already beginning to take on its autumn colors (first photo). Once I reached the east slope of Mt. Hakuba Norikura, a pleasant breeze made the climb much more comfortable, and I reached the summit at 11:15 a.m. On the way toward the Hakuba Oike Sanso mountain hut, I found myself stopping to watch the clouds swirling around Mt. Korenge and the Hakuba Sanzan peaks, and to take in the beautiful blue of Hakuba Oike reflecting the sky (pictured).
[Hakuba Oike]

I arrived at Hakuba Oike Sanso (2,380 m) around three hours after leaving the trailhead. I ran into a group of university mountaineering club students from Kanagawa Prefecture (pictured) who told me, “We had originally planned to start from Sarukura, climb the Hakuba Daisekkei, cross Mt. Hakuba, and descend to Tsugaike. But with the afternoon weather looking uncertain, we changed our plans and decided on an out-and-back hike from Tsugaike to Mt. Hakuba Norikura and Hakuba Oike instead.”
[Hakuba Oike]

After having lunch in front of Hakuba Oike Sanso, I started back down at 12:30 p.m., just as the clouds began to break and the sun came out in force (pictured). In midsummer, clouds that build along the ridgeline rarely clear again the same day, but once September arrives, afternoons like this become much more common. Kumoma-miminagusa, miyama akinokirin-so, and yamahahako were blooming around Hakuba Oike and Mt. Hakuba Norikura, while Hakusan-furo and miyama-senkyu could be seen on the mountain’s eastern slope.
[Hakuba Oike]

　　
[Tsugaike Nature Park Opening Information]
*Period … 6/6 (Sat.) to 10/25 (Sun.), 2026
*Hours … Tsugaike Ropeway: Open from 8:00 a.m. / 7:30 a.m.- on weekends from 8/29 (Sat.) to 9/23 (Wed.), 7:00 a.m.- on 9/26 (Sat.) to 9/27 (Sun.)
*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.)

*Request for the original data of our photographs

reported by Snownavi