Hello to all our loyal readers around the world! It’s been a while since our last post and we though we should check in with a quick update as well as a look back at the 2019 season.
The photo at the top of the page was taken by Five Sense guide and blogger Sakura, who visited Kamikochi just before New Year and snapped some some really spectacular pictures. Check out the whole post here.
In truth, winter has taken its time coming to Nagano Prefecture. At time of writing, there’s nary a spot of snow in sight around Chikuma City where I live or virtually anywhere else at a comparable elevation.
There is, however, snow in Kamikochi whose 1,200m elevation ensures it gets the white stuff earlier than nearby cities do.
We expect this situation to have changed by February, when Kamikochi will be under a thick blanket of snow and the snow resorts of Nagano hopefully likewise attired.
In the meanwhile, let’s take a look back at some memorable images from the 8 month period that made up Kamikochi’s 2019 season, from mid-April to mid-November. This should also give prospective visitors who are new to the topic an idea of what to expect:
April
These images from the first days after Kamikochi’s opening show the park still in the midst of wintery conditions with snow still remaining on some trails.
May
Kamikochi’s 2019 season officially opened during the once in an era event that was “Platinum Week,” an extended version of Golden Week with more holiday time to accommodate the new Emperor’s coronation. Visitors were treated to fine weather and a buoyant atmosphere.
June
June saw the arrival of an unusually cool rainy season, with temperatures dropping to about 10 degrees Celsius. The ducks were right at home.
July
As the rain clouds of June withdrew, July emerged from the mists and the air grew steadily warmer. Thus began the countdown to the peak of the summer season in…
August
With summer temperatures soaring in the cities, thousands sought refuge in the cool alpine climes of Kamikochi. Warm days and breezy evenings under the stars were the norm.
September
September of 2019 was quite warm from beginning to end, with the hotly anticipated autumn foliage delayed for a couple of weeks. We did catch some early glimpses of it though.
October
October would prove a slightly turbulent time of the season as Typhoon 19 pummeled Central Japan in mid-month. Despite being spared the full brunt of the damage, Kamikochi did experience disruptions to its usual bus services and express trains linking the area to Tokyo had to be suspended until the end of the month. The autumn foliage peaked late, but when it arrived it was as lovely as always.
November
All goo things come to an end and so Kamikochi’s 2019 season, albeit with some of the foliage still on the trees (a rarity for mid-November).
Well, that’s about it for today. We hope you’ve enjoyed this retrospective of the past season. We’d also like to remind you to check back here for updates on the coming 2020 season in the lead-up to the opening in April.
Keep warm and have a great winter.
Sources of Information:
Nature Guide: Five Sense, Kamikochi blog: https://fivesense.guide/blog/today/26157/