REPORT

The forest around the upper section of the Naeba Dragondola, Japan’s longest gondola at 5,481 meters in length, is now at peak fall color. This morning, I parked at the Naeba Ski Resort day-use parking lot, bought a ticket at the Schnee Day Center, and headed for the gondola. Just beyond Pylon 14, the first major viewpoint, the gondola plunges steeply downhill like a roller coaster before gliding just above the Kiyotsu River (pictured), making for an unforgettable ride.
[Naeba Dragondola・Pylon 14]

After about 25 minutes of soaring over the mountains through a series of climbs and descents, I arrived at the summit station. I met a couple from Saitama Prefecture (pictured) there, who told me, “It’s still green down at the base, but the colors are beautiful up here. We’re going to skip the lift and walk up instead so we can take our time enjoying the foliage.” As they mentioned, a trekking trail leads from here toward the top of the Panorama Lift.
[Tashiro Kogen]

The colors gradually became more subdued as I rode the Panorama Lift higher, and near the top, the white trunks of birch trees stood out beautifully against the remaining foliage. Around the upper lift station, where the leaves are beginning to fade, Mt. Naeba (2,145 m) rose directly ahead of me. I then spent about 20 minutes walking back down the trekking trail with emerald-green Lake Tashiro visible below to my left.
[Panorama Lift]

After stopping for tonjiru (pork miso soup) at one of the food stalls near the Dragondola summit station, I rode the lift over to the summit station of the Tashiro Ropeway (pictured). The ropeway ride offered more excellent views of the fall colors, which are also peaking along this section. From the Tashiro Ropeway base station, a free shuttle bus returned me to the Naeba day-use parking lot in about 10 minutes.
[Tashiro Ropeway]

　
[Naeba Dragondola Information]
*Season … Oct. 10 (Sat.)-Nov. 8 (Sun.), 2026
*Hours … 9:00 a.m.-16:00 p.m.
*Price … Adults ¥4,000, elementary school children ¥2,300, pets ¥1,000 *Round trip on either the Naeba Dragondola or Tashiro Ropeway is available, as well as one-way trips on each.
　
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reported by Snownavi