Good morning. View from my room.
According to the weather forecast, rainfall is expected to occur 50% of the days in October/November. Depending on your luck, you have a 50-50 chance of getting lousy weather.
The key places we are visiting are outdoors. I always like to set an extra day’s allowance for situations like this—lousy weather.
It’s very sad. Clouds are covering the Hakuba Mountains. Because there’s no rain, we decided to proceed as planned and hope for the best. Oh, and because one of the places we are visiting in Hakuba, the famous IG photo spot, is operating for the last day before they close for the winter period, it has to be today.
But first, let’s grab some free Yakult and coffee on the way out of the hotel.
It’s about a two-hour drive from the hotel, so there’s one more stop to grab more coffee and have a short toilet break. To the left of the photo (cut off) is a mini-mart selling fresh produce. The buying spree has started. I remember my family buying a bottle of freshly squeezed apple juice.
Well, I guess another enjoyable thing about driving in Japan is many such stopovers with food and gift shops. Never boring.
I parked at the base, bought tickets and went up the ropeway. Again, they have operation seasons. So be sure to plan your trip dates well.
https://www.happo-one.jp/en/trekking/alpenline/
I very much want to do the Happo Lake trek. I saw stunning pictures of the lake online during the Autumn season. However, our travel dates are too late, and that section is closed.
First stop Hakuba Mountain Harbor- The City Bakery. Unluckily, fog descended when we reached, and there was a slight drizzle.
We decided to explore other parts of the place and return later.
To the left, where we exited the ropeway, is an open chair lift that leads to another section.
Over here, there is a lovely little cafe to hide from the cold and you can access the open terrace to enjoy the mountain view.
Another reason why you need to come here is this:
View this post on Instagram
This is called the HAKUBA GIANT SWING. It is relatively newly installed, and not many people know about it (as of when I went). There’s another swing called the Yoo-hoo Swing Iwatake. That swing has a long queue. The Hakuba Giant Swing looks a lot more exciting between the two. Try it. Cost 1,000 Yen per swing.
The skies cleared up a bit, and we made our way back to The City Bakery.
It’s a pity the weather did not cooperate. I hope to revisit some other time to see the tri-coloured mountains.
It was time for lunch. The restaurant we wanted to visit had a lovely view of the Hakuba Mountains. Unfortunately, it was closed for a few days, and that information wasn’t made known online.
We quickly searched on Google and found this soba noodle shop nearby.
View this post on Instagram
The noodles were okay, in my opinion. It’s not fantastic, so you can consider giving this a pass.
I drove past this beautiful lake and stopped for a couple of pictures.
View this post on Instagram
It’s autumn, so the sun sets at about 5 p.m. When we got back to the city, it was dark.
I visited this tonkatsu restaurant, which was recommended by many.
View this post on Instagram
I decided to visit 7-11, grab some desserts and head back to the hotel for the onsen and rest.
I found this Tokyo banana ice cream. Yummy!
Click below for day 3!
Autumn in Japan, Two Weeks Self-Drive Travel Itinerary (Nagano, Hakone, Izu, Tokyo) – Day 3
Click below to read about the rest of my trip!
Autumn in Japan, Two Weeks Self-Drive Travel Itinerary (Nagano, Hakone, Izu, Tokyo)
***
If you want a copy of my itinerary, comment below with your email, and we will send it to your inbox!
***
