Tateyama Snow Corridor: Japan’s 20-Metre Snow Walls on the Alpine Route

Every spring, a road high in Japan’s Northern Alps is dug out of the snow, leaving walls 15 to 20 metres high on either side. This is the Yuki-no-Ōtani snow corridor near Murodō on the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, and walking between its white cliffs is one of the great snow experiences anywhere in the world.

The Yuki-no-Ōtani snow corridor

The Tateyama area, in Chūbu-Sangaku National Park, receives enormous amounts of snow, and by spring the plateau around Murodō lies under many metres of it. Before the route reopens in April, crews clear the Tateyama Highland Bus road, cutting straight down through the accumulated layers.

The result is Yuki-no-Ōtani: a stretch of road where buses run between vertical walls typically 15 to 20 metres tall, from mid-April into June. Part of the corridor is opened to pedestrians, so you can walk along the base of the walls and see the bands of snow from different storms in the cut face. The height varies every year with the winter’s snowfall.

The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, stage by stage

Opened on 1 June 1971, the Alpine Route crosses the Northern Alps for 37 km between Tateyama in Toyama Prefecture and Ōgisawa in Nagano Prefecture, with a maximum height difference of 1,975 metres. The journey uses a chain of different vehicles:

1. Tateyama → Bijodaira: Tateyama Cable Car, a 1.3 km funicular.
2. Bijodaira → Murodō: Tateyama Highland Bus, 23 km up through the Midagahara plateau and the snow corridor.
3. Murodō → Daikanbō: a 3.7 km tunnel bus through the Tateyama Tunnel.
4. Daikanbō → Kurobedaira: Tateyama Ropeway, 1.7 km of aerial cable car.
5. Kurobedaira → Kurobeko: Kurobe Cable Car, a 0.8 km funicular.
6. Kurobeko → Kurobe Dam: about 15 minutes on foot.
7. Kurobe Dam → Ōgisawa: Kanden Tunnel Electric Bus, 6.1 km.

The tunnel sections were long served by trolleybuses, which have since been replaced by electric buses. Murodō, at 2,450 metres, is the highest station on the route.

Kurobe Dam and other highlights

• Kurobe Dam: at 186 metres, the tallest dam in Japan, with the Kurobe Lake reservoir behind it.
• Midagahara: a high plateau of wetland, plains and blue ponds with easy walking paths.
• Shōmyō Falls: Japan’s tallest waterfall, seen across the valley from the road between Tateyama Station and Murodō.
• The peaks: mountains above 3,000 metres rise around the route, with Murodō as the highest point you can reach by transport.

When to visit and how to get there

The route is open from mid-April to the end of November; in 2026 it runs from 15 April to 30 November. Come in late April or May for the tallest snow walls, in summer for alpine flowers and hiking, and in October for autumn colour.

From the Toyama side, take the Toyama Chiho Railway from Dentetsu-Toyama to Tateyama Station. From the Nagano side, a bus connects Shinano-Ōmachi Station with Ōgisawa. Even in May the snow corridor can be cold and windy, so bring warm layers and sunglasses for the glare.

Video: driving through the snow wall

Narciso’s video Great Snow Wall drive in Tateyama follows the road between the walls.

More snow on the move: watch a train ploughing through deep snow in New Zealand and ride another spectacular mountain railway.

Related reading

• More about Japan on Snow Addiction
• Niseko Snowboarding: A Thirteen-Day GoPro Diary
• Baishuitai: White Water Terraces below the Haba Snow Mountains
• K2: A Karakoram Mountain Film with Music by Hip de Bop
• Inside Kamchatka’s Mutnovsky Ice Cave
• Everest’s Mountain Workers: The Sherpa’s Story
• The Khumbu Icefall through Theodore Fairhurst’s Helmet Camera

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