For travellers looking to explore the peaks of Japan, it doesn’t get much better than the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, an extraordinary expedition through Honshu’s Northern Alps. Like the Hakone Loop, a far more travelled trail around Mount Fuji to the south, this itinerary incorporates multiple forms of transport — a train, funicular, highland bus, cable-car and electric bus, plus a short stretch by foot.
Strictly speaking, the trip covers 23 miles between Tateyama and Omachi. If you have time to spare, it’s worth extending it so you begin in Toyama, famed for its seafood, and finish in Nagano, with onsen hot baths to sink into and rest at the end of the journey. Here are some of the highlights along the way.
TOYAMA
A seafood city. The tastiest catch…