Alps to Sea白馬から富山へ

A temple that belongs to no single school: Tendai and Jōdo priests run it together, and by tradition it was founded in 644. The main hall (1707) is a National Treasure. The grounds cost nothing; the inner sanctuary and the Okaidan, a pitch-dark corridor under the altar, take a ¥800 ticket (¥1,500 for the set with the Sanmon gate, the sutra library and the museum). From December to February the inner sanctuary closes at 16:00.

Allow 1h 30m to 2h with the Okaidan and the Sanmon. Parking is in coin car parks around the gate (fees not checked). The Zenkō-ji guide has the dawn service and the ticket detail.

Happō-One has 1,071 m of vertical, an 8 km longest run and the 1998 Olympic downhill; 2026–27 is the last winter for the old gondola. Goryu opens on 21 November, the high resorts in early December, Cortina and Norikura on 12 December and Iwatake on 18 December, so before those dates this is a village, a bath and a view of the range. Happō Onsen water is a simple spring at pH 11.2–11.3 and about 50°C, and several inns here bathe in it.

Dinner: Happō and Echoland restaurants book out in peak weeks and many small ones take cash only, so carry yen. The Clubhouse next to The Happo serves coffee from 07:00, lunch and a sports bar in the evening. A ski day is the natural extra day: the Hakuba Valley day pass is ¥11,100 for all 10 resorts, and a Happō-One day ticket is ¥9,800. The Hakuba ski guide has the rest.

Route 148 runs 69.9 km from Ōmachi to Itoigawa and is also called the Salt Road (塩の道). Below Hakuba it follows the Hime River north through Otari and over the prefectural line. It is a single road, so weekends jam and any closure stops everything. The JR Ōito Line and a JR West bus share the valley, and the bus runs daily from 1 December to 31 March (not 28 to 31 December), a sign that the valley is kept open in winter.

Michi-no-Eki Otari (小谷) at Kita-Otari is the break halfway. Season and roads covers snow, closures and what to do if the road is shut. The Hakuba access guide has the train and bus timetable for the same valley.

Itoigawa was Japan's first UNESCO Global Geopark (2009), on the seam where eastern and western Japan meet. Six exhibition zones cover the jade pulled from nearby gorges, the geology of the Fossa Magna and fossils including the ammonite Nipponites, with English signs. It opens at 9:00 (last entry 16:30) and takes 60 to 90 minutes.

Winter: from December to February it closes on Mondays (and the day after a holiday), and from 28 December to 4 January. Our geopark guide gives ¥700; other listings give ¥500 to ¥700, so check at the door. The inland geosites, Kotakigawa Jade Gorge and Fossa Magna Park, are shut for the winter, so this is the geopark stop. The geopark guide has the rest.

A 4 km pebble beach where stones from the inland jadeite deposits wash down the river and out to sea. Collecting pebbles is allowed on the coast, which makes it one of the few places where you can legally take real jade home. The beach is at its best after stormy weather, when fresh stones are turned over; stay well back from the water in rough seas.

Damp stones show their colour far better than dry ones, so bring a small waterproof bag and rinse in the shallows. The Fossa Magna Museum identifies dry, clean stones under 15 cm on set weekend dates (lottery ticket at 9:00). The Jade Coast guide has the details.

Beyond the park, 15 km of sea cliffs once formed Japan's most feared coastal road: Oyashirazu-Kōshirazu means "not knowing your parents, not knowing your children", because Edo-period travellers crossed at low tide and lost family to the waves. Pier Park is a roadside stop at the foot of the cliffs, with a restaurant that has panoramic sea views and fresh seafood set lunches around ¥1,500.

It is an exceptional sunset spot, but in December and January the light fades around 16:30, so stop by 15:00 and keep driving. Winter sea can be violent here: watch the waves from the car park, not the rocks.

Every ryokan in town draws the same weakly alkaline spring from the Kuronagi source up the gorge, so the baths are gentle and many look over the Kurobe River. A kaiseki dinner here blends Toyama Bay seafood (buri in winter, shiroebi) with Kurobe mountain vegetables, river trout and a masuzushi starter.

The Kurobe Gorge Railway runs the full line to 30 November, makes a short run on 1 to 6 December, then closes for the winter, so December to April is a night for the baths and the dinner, not the trolley. There are winter tours on set days between 10 January and 28 February (see the Kurobe guide). Many inns and shops close on irregular days in winter, so check before you go; the tourist desk at Yumedokoro Unazuki is on 0765-62-1515.

Giant cedar roots, buried about 2,000 years ago when river overflow and rising seas covered the forest, stand in water in the exhibition hall, and there is a café. Entry is ¥640, open 9:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30), and it is closed on Thursdays from 15 December to March and over New Year.

Wet weather does not matter here. The Uozu Aquarium, the oldest still operating in Japan, is 10 minutes away (¥1,000, closed Mondays from 1 December to 15 March and 29 December to 1 January). Eat at the inn. The Uozu guide has the hours.