Freezing Dawn at Norikura Highlands

Mount Norikura before snowfall

Takako Sakamoto Oct 23, 2014 - 1 min read

<p>I arrived at the parking lot in front of the vacation village of Norikura Highlands before dawn, at 4 A.M.</p>

<p>Ushidome-ike Pond is only a three-minute walk from the vacation village of Norikura Highlands</p>

<p>What a great view! But unfortunately, there wasn't snow yet around the top of the mountain</p>

<p>The temperature at dawn was -1℃ and my breath was white</p>

<p>Fallen leaves and plants were twinkling like crystals</p>

<p>On the way to 'Sanbon-daki (Three Waterfalls)', you'll see white birch trees in silvery hue under the blue sky</p>

<p>'Three Waterfalls': One of Mount Norikura's three major waterfalls</p>

<p>It looked as though the water was falling down from the blue sky above</p>

Two years ago, on October 23, I visited Norikura Highlands in Nagano prefecture to enjoy the early autumn leaves deep in the mountains.

To preserve nature, as in the case at Kamikochi Highlands, from 'Three Waterfall Gate' to 'Yu-touge Gate', as well as on the 'Norikura Echo Line' and on the 'Norikura Skyline', general vehicles are not allowed to enter. Instead, public buses are available, so I took one of them. As planned, I arrived at the 'Three Waterfall Gate' and looked at the mountaintop. Unfortunately, the autumn leaves around the mountaintop had passed their peak and were almost finished. Autumn in the mountains had come to an end sooner than I expected. So, I decided to save the main tour around the 'Echo Line' for next time and explored the area of Ichinose Camp Site instead.

Autumn Colors of Norikura Highlands 1. Freezing Dawn at Norikura Highlands 2. Mount Norikura in Golden Hue 3. Translucent Norikura Highlands

Takako Sakamoto @takako.sakamoto

I was born in and grew up in Tokushima prefecture, and have lived in many places since then: Nishinomiya, Kyoto, Nara, Mie, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Fukuoka and Fukui. I am currently living in Yokohama City. All the places I lived, all the places I visited, I have loved dearly. The histor...