This area is the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route in Toyama Prefecture, also known as Yuki-no-otani (“Huge Valley of Snow”) and as the Japan Alps. You need to use various means of transport to arrive here – cable cars, buses, electric buses, ropeways – so you can enjoy the beautiful views along the route while experiencing a journey full of thrills.
The place where you can see the wall of snow is called Murodo.







You can see it from mid-April, when it is at its highest, but it gradually becomes lower as it melts and by mid-June, it disappears.
In fall, the snow is replaced by autumn leaves, and there are different scenes of beauty to see here depending on the season.
When I went this time, it was the first day that the Alpine Route was opened after the winter, and I was able to see an enormous snow wall some 19 meters high.
There are also lots of other things to see.
There is a 360-degree panorama view of mountains and snow which is incredibly beautiful.
You can enjoy sliding on a snow slide and visiting a snow maze.





Then, a little further on, there is the Kurobe dam, the biggest dam in Japan, and at this time of year, the dam is frozen over. Once this melts, then you can enjoy cruises on the lake behind the dam.
There is lots of snow at the Japan Alps, but it doesn’t feel that cold.
The sun is shining so it still feels warm, to the extent that you feel like you could take off your jacket and still be warm enough.