More than 200 km north west of Tokyo lie the Japan Alps, which were named as such by two Englishmen, a mining expatriate and a missionery, in the late 19th Century.  In September, 2010, my wife and I went to the Tateyama and Kurobe areas, which are popular tourist destinations in the northern Japan Alps.

Due to the marvels of modern technology - an electric bus and tram car taking you through mountain tunnels to an aerial cable car - you can enjoy a comfortable ride to a huge dam high up in the mountains and continue to the highest point at 2,450 meters above sea-level. Here are some photos.  

On September 29, 2010, we went to the climbing base of Mt. Kiso-Komagatake, which is 2,956 meters high in the central Japan Alps. An eight-minute aerial cable car ride took us to the base at 2,600 meters high. During this trip, we also visited two villages that have been beautifully restored with rows of traditional travelling lodges standing along a narrow main street: in a word, it was something like a time trip to the Edo period.        

Mt. Kiso-Komagatake on September 29, 2010,

"Magome-juku", a restored old village in Nagano prefecture, on September 30, 2010  

"Tsumago-juku", a restored old village in Nagano prefecture, on September 30, 2010

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