Dentetsu-Toyama Station

As planned, we went to the Tateyama Kurobe sightseeing counter to buy tickets directly to Murodo. However, since we would only return as far as Tateyama Station, we only bought tickets for the outbound trip (and had to tell them our planned cable car departure time, which would be printed on the ticket). By the time we finished buying tickets, it was almost departure time, so we quickly went through the gates and boarded the train. The train already had quite a few passengers. Nana diligently walked all the way to the first car, but there were still only standing spaces.

Tateyama Station

After arriving at Tateyama Station, we planned to first buy our return tickets. We looked around but couldn't find anything that looked like a ticket booth, so we randomly stopped a well-dressed lady to ask. She felt like a very energetic Japanese tour guide. She took us downstairs to the ticket counter. After a round of frantic gestures, we finally understood that return tickets could only be purchased at Murodo.

Then we walked to Tateyamakan. After ringing the doorbell and chattering away for a while, the owner came out to see what kind of tricks we were trying to pull. With the Tateyama transportation timetable in hand and more gestures, we finally managed to clearly tell him that we would arrive later than the time we had agreed on when we booked.

The mountain cable car was quite special. Because the slope is about forty-five degrees, the carriage itself is also tilted at forty-five degrees, with the interior arranged like steps. The elevation gain is five hundred meters in seven minutes, bringing us up to Bijodaira.

Bijodaira

At Bijodaira, we transferred to the Tateyama Highland Bus, which is basically a sightseeing bus running high in the mountains. It runs on dedicated roads, and you almost only see the same type of highland buses along the way. The bus passes by Sendo Sugi and the viewpoint for Shomyo Falls, both on the left side on the way up. There's no need to deliberately sit on the left-hand side—although Shomyo Falls has a drop of 350 meters, from more than two kilometers away it looks just like a waterfall as thin as silk threads. An introduction video about nearby scenery plays on the bus, and the driver even controls the speed so that the video and the outside scenery line up, so the ride is very smooth. Looking around from the bus, you can still fully enjoy the mountain views; it's just a pity that there weren't as many autumn colors as we had hoped for.

Murodo Station

We bought return tickets to Tateyama Station, but unlike the way up, we didn't need to specify a departure time for the mountain cable car. After buying the tickets and checking the departure time of the last bus, Nana decided to settle lunch right there (seven breads weren't enough??? 🤣).

We noticed people lining up outside Restaurant Tateyama, and the line was even split into two—one for individual guests and one for tour groups. After looking at the menu, Nana immediately decided to go for it. The restaurant was very busy. After reading the menu, we had no idea how to place our order, and it seemed the Japanese guy at the next table also didn't know what to do. So we waved to call a staff member over to take our order. After we finished ordering, I pointed to the guy next to us, and then he also managed to order. Then he went to get water and even brought us two cups to say thanks. 😄

Murodo Station Observatory

From the Murodo observatory, we began the main event of the day! The goal was to pass Oyama, Ohnanji-yama, and Fuji-no-Oritate and then return to Murodo! It's beautiful to dream, but reality is reality. Nana originally planned to just walk a loop around Mikurigaike Pond, but the distance to Ichinokoshi Sansou didn't seem that far, and we also wanted to see Murodo from halfway up the mountain, so Bobo persuaded Nana to head toward Ichinokoshi Sansou instead, and we set a turn-back time so we wouldn't miss the last bus.

There were quite a few tourists and hikers along the way, and most of them were wearing bear bells. There was even a bride and groom taking wedding photos. We passed a small structure marked as "Haraedo Shrine" on the map; it looked just like the small earth-god temples you see in the mountains in Taiwan, with an offertory box labeled "Tsurugidake Shrine" inside. We ate some of the bread we had bought the day before here to replenish the not-so-much energy we had used.

Ichinokoshi Sansou

At an elevation of 2,700 meters, it's about the same height as Luoyewei Mountain in Taiwan. Ichinokoshi Sansou sits on a saddle and is a mountain hut that serves meals (in Taiwan, we'd call this a luxury mountain hut). From here, you can look down over Murodo's meadows and the sea of clouds beyond, which made Nana feel the trip was well worth it. After resting, taking photos, and glancing at Oyama—which we didn't manage to climb—we turned back. On the way back, Bobo tossed a one-yen coin we picked up on the ground into the offertory box at Tsurugidake Shrine, but his aim was off. We wished for one trillion yen, but clearly that hasn't come true yet.

Mikurigaike Pond

Strolling around Murodo offered a completely different kind of scenery. We passed Mikurigaike Pond and went to Mikurigaike Onsen to buy a blueberry soft-serve ice cream, which tasted pretty average. Then we checked out Jigokudani (Hell Valley), Blood Pond, and Raicho-so, before heading back to Murodo Station to catch the last bus.

Murodo Station

When we got back to the observatory, it was already close to departure time, but Nana was still reluctantly taking photos non-stop. Bobo nervously said, "The departure time is 16:20, that means the bus leaves at 16:20, not that we board at 16:20!!!" Turns out Bobo was wrong. The line had already stretched up along the stairs to the second floor, and it looked like one bus wouldn't be enough for everyone. But then more highland buses kept pulling in, and they kept loading passengers until everyone in line was on board, so we safely got on the last of the "last buses." It was almost sunset by then, just in time to see the sun setting over Toyama Bay.

On the way down, the highland bus still stopped briefly at each scenic spot. But instead of transferring at Bijodaira, it went directly back to Tateyama Station.

Tateyamakan

By the time we got back to Tateyama Station, it was already dark. Since we had already been here once in the morning, getting back to Tateyamakan was no problem at all. As we approached Tateyamakan, we saw a figure on the first floor glance at us and then turn away. When we went up to the second floor to check in, the landlady appeared. After a round of gestures and mutual confusion, we finally figured out that we'd be staying in the fourth room on the second floor, and that dinner would be served at 18:30.

Tateyamakan is an old inn, with a more traditional Japanese banquet hall (not entirely sure—it's a larger tatami room with a raised platform at the front, which I guess is a stage for performances). The bathroom also looks like an old-fashioned space with newer equipment placed inside. There seemed to be quite a few brown marmorated stink bugs, and there was tape in the room specifically for catching them. The bugs move slowly, so you can just use the tape to pick them off. There was also a handwritten hotel guide in Chinese, English, and Japanese in the room, but the Chinese version was a bit off, which I suspect was the work of some ancient translation software.

The restaurant was on the first floor, with a total of three groups of guests. Dinner was very refined, a full table of dishes yet still just the right amount. After we carefully finished everything, Bobo used Google Translate to tell the owner, "Dinner was great, thank you!" He looked very happy and then went into the kitchen to find the landlady. Nana started imagining that he was going to share the Google Translate story.