There are several choices of hotels, B&Bs and lodges along the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route. We stayed at Hotel Tateyama in Murododaira during our trip to Kurobe Dam.
Murododaira Station is located at the height of 2,450m and it is the key station to climb the Tateyama Mountain Range and to visit the Kurobe Dam. Mountain weather was changeable, so we stayed two nights at the Hotel Tateyama to visit the Kurobe Dam to prepare for any possible weather conditions.
Old dining room
The old dining room had a cozy atmosphere and the service at the restaurant was satisfying at Hotel Tateyama. It was a long way to travel to Hotel Tateyama from Tokyo for us and we were happy to finally enjoy Toyama’s local cuisines. We enjoyed Japanese and Western style dinners at the Hotel Tateyama. It was amazing to find local ingredients in such a high mountain hotel.
When it comes to coffee
We had lunch at Tea Lounge Rindou in Hotel Tateyama. What was good about the Tea Lounge was cold-brew coffee with Tateyama’s spring water. We drew Tateyama’s spring water at the Water Station near Murododaira Station. However, it seemed the water at the restroom of Hotel Tateyama was the same as Tateyama’s spring water. In fact, it seemed to be the same water at our guest room, or even at the restroom, as it was at the water station.
Japanese Soba Noodle
We also ate rice balls and Japanese noodle at Tateyama Soba Noodle shop in the Murododaira Station. It helped us a lot after hiking in cold weather.
The snow corridor in summer
Tateyama has some of the heaviest snowfalls in Japan. This area gets over 10m of snow and sometimes as much as 20m. When mountain-climbing season starts, local people clear away the snow on the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route and create a snow corridor. You can walk through the 500m long snow corridor for 40 mins from mid April to May.
Around the Hotel Tateyama in the Murododaira area is the end of the snow corridor. The snow walls remain until August and you can play with the snow in summer. The snow was a little bit dirty, but the size of the remaining snow was overwhelming.
It’s all in the details:
Transportation: Tateyama Alpine Route
Hiking: Midagahara Hiking
