So we made the journey to Norikura Kogen this morning where we’d be hiking a trail to see the Zengoronotaki <\/span>waterfall. Norikura Kogen is a large plateau at the base of Mount Norikuradake. The directions to get to this place aren’t on Google Maps, but after some researching and also consultation with the Matsumoto Bus Terminal Office, it basically involves a 30-minute train ride followed by a 45-minute bus ride.<\/p>\n From Matsumoto Station, we took a train to Shinshimashima Station \u2014 a very quiet, sedate spot \u2014 and apparently the only tourists who stop at this station are those taking a bus to the Norikura Kogen area itself. The train and bus ride timings synced up quite well, providing sufficient buffer for possible delays, but we largely experienced none throughout this hike day. Besides us, there were only four other tourists on the bus: two couples who looked like they were in their late 20s to early 30s and travelling to Norikura Kogen to ski.<\/p>\n The bus dropped us off at the Norikura Kogen Tourist Information Center stop, and we finally experienced our first falling snow this trip. Snow had been forecast for these last two days at Matsumoto, but only the very lightest snow had fallen on the city itself. But on Day 14 night at the Kogen, there was sufficient snowfall that led to about a foot deep of snow.<\/p>\n The immediate feeling of being in a quiet snow town that barely anyone goes to was evident: aside from a couple of parked vehicles, there was barely any visible life. Or perhaps everyone had hunkered down in the buildings!<\/p>\n We headed to the company office which was just next to where the bus dropped us off, and we spent half an hour with paperwork and the usual signing-off of liabilities, along with a thorough briefing with our guide, followed by trying out equipment. Our guide was a really nice lady, I suspect in her late 30s or early 40s, and asked that we call her ‘C4’, as her name was too complex to pronounce! She could manage conversational English, though somewhat halting, and by speaking slowly and emphasising keywords, we were able to converse.<\/p>\n As we needed to board the 12:16PM departing bus back to Shinshimashima Station to return to Matsumoto city, the usual 3-hour snowshoe hike was shortened to about 2.5 hours. That was fine for us and I didn’t feel like we were being shortchanged: hiking through a forest trail when it’s snowing is thrilling for the first five minutes, then just sheer physical exertion for the rest of it! That we had to wear snowshoes only added to the challenge: it of course ensured that you did not slip, but it was also pretty easy to accidentally step on your own shoe and subsequently lose balance.<\/p>\n The 3-hour hike as organised by Little Peaks normally involves them bringing the group to a closer point to the Falls, and from the Falls, the group would hike all the way back to the Norikura Kogen Tourist Information Center. Since we had less time, the company arranged for a pick-up on the return leg too after we’d hiked from the falls back to the main road. The trail to the Zengoronotaki Falls<\/span> waterfall itself was probably about a kilometer, though it was pretty hard to judge as we were trudging through the snow slowly. C4 would also stop at various points to share interesting information about the flora and animal life in the park. Still, we made it to the waterfall after an hour’s (slow) hike. The waterfall had partially frozen overnight, and we were treated to the gorgeous sight from several vantage points.<\/p>\n The 12:16PM bus returned us to Shinshimashima Station at 1PM. After that it was a wait at the station \u2014 there was a heated room (whew) \u2014 for the 1:27PM train that brought us back to Matsumoto Station. We were famished and lunched at the coincidentally named Everest restaurant, an Indian-Nepalese joint which did up naans.<\/p>\n More pictures!<\/p>\n [all images and captions unchanged]<\/p>\n In all, this was a great and very memorable experience and the first time we’d hiked through snow. The actual experience was physically demanding, but NS boys would handle it easily, and uncles and aunties like us who are still in reasonably good shape would manage fine. This isn’t something we recommend for young children or older folk who haven’t previously experienced such hikes in snow though.<\/p>\n We’d be heading elsewhere in the prefecture on Day 16 tomorrow to see Snow Monkeys. More to come soon!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We’re not massive snow activity persons. Nonetheless, when wintering in the country, we’d necessarily need to at least do some of it \u2014 if nothing else, just to tick off the item on the ‘must-do’ list! Unfortunately, the daughter had<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/blog-2023-japan-day-15-20231222_073317.jpg\")
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