One hour distance away on the road from Takayama, we finally made our way to the next destination Shin Hotaka. Shin Hotaka is where you can take ropeway journey up to the Northern Alps of Japan. As it is located pretty near to Takayama, there are a lot of bus services going to Shin Hotaka for the onsen and ropeway but I suppose you need more research to figure out the route, especially if you are not Japanese-speaker. 

 

Alternatively, you can join a day tour and you just need to be ready at the point where the bus will pick you up and the tour guide would have already bought your ropeway ticket and book your lunch meal up in the mountain. There are many stations along the ropeway but if I’m not wrong, you need to alight at the earliest stop to have your meal. The lunch set provided to us at the restaurant is pretty standard and I can probably conclude that the lunch is healthy since the tofu pieces seem to be bigger than the beef. You are supposed to cook the beef at the hot plate where the tofu is plated. The soup that the waitress instructed us to use for cooking, though, is not meant to be eaten. It tastes weirdly salty if you slurp the soup. Sp, I just obeyed the instruction and slurp the miso soup instead. I randomly spotted gacha slot machines there and oh boy, did I just get Pikachu and its poke ball? So cute! 

 

After we finish eating, we are back to the ropeway to continue our journey further up the Northern Alps. So what’s so special about this ropeway? Based on www.japan-guide.com, Shinhotaka ropeway apparently has one of the largest elevation gains in Japan as it climbs over 1000 meters up the side of the Hotake Mountain Range, which includes Oku-Hotakedake (Japan’s third highest peak. It’s also the first double decker gondola cars ropeway. While I’m not a pro about cable car and ropeway car, I think the view from Shin Hotaka ropeway is so beautiful with the combination of forest, snowy ground, mountain, snowy mountain peak and blue sky. It also offers breathtaking view of the Okuhida region. Make sure you stand near the glass if you want to catch the view but be careful if you are scared of height okay.  If you did not manage to get the window spot in the ropeway car, don’t worry, you can make your way to the viewing dock and take picture with the mailbox to prove that you have conquered the top. 

 

Shinhotaka Ropeway operating hours:

 

8.30 to 16.45 (April to November)

9.00 to 16.15 (December to March)

 

Admission:

 

From the bottom: 2,900 JPY (roundtrip), 1,600 JPY (one way)