I have always been fascinated with the snow canyons of the Kita Alps (North Alps) between Nagano and Toyama prefectures, also near Gifu. We were in Ohmachi, Nagano to help a friend plant a vineyard for wine so jumped at the chance to visit the famous Alpine Route. The snow canyons only open to the public from mid-April It can be accessed from Ohmachi in Nagano or from Tateyama in Fukui. We started our journey at 8:30 a.m. and it took a combination of electric buses, cable car, and a ropeway to get to the top of the mountain. We finally arrived at 11:00 a.m. to Murodo. From here visitors can walk into the snow canyons. It was even more impressive than I imagined.

Here you can see how tall the walls are, even higher than a bus. The brochure below says that the snow canyons are around through May and then starting in June they get smaller. http://www.alpen-route.com/en/wp-content/uploads/leaflet.pdf There were busloads of tourists. I highly suggest going first thing in the morning and heading straight up to the top and then taking your time coming down. On our way down we saw that there were long lines for the cable car and ropeway. You have the option of going all the way through, so starting at one end and going to the other. We opted to start and begin our journey in Nagano. We started at 8:30 a.m. and spent about 45 minutes at the top before heading down. It was about a five-hour journey from start to end. From Ohmachi station there is a bus that can bring you to the base of the mountains. There is also a taxi. The round-trip journey from the base of the mountain was about 10,000 JPY ($100 USD). There are restaurants and some light snacks along the way, but when we go back I would buy food from a convenience store and take it with us. Nearby eats: Azumino Okina Soba