We bought the Shinhotaka Ropeway Combination tix from the Takayama bus station, which includes the gondola car ride to the Alps and a snack~

The bus ride was about an hour to Shinhotaka station~

You have to take another shuttle bus from here to the Shinhotaka Visitor Centre/Ropeway. Arriving at the Shinhotaka Visitor Centre, we exchanged the coupon for the actual tix.

It comes with a free onsen!

The gondola is very spacious.

The view up is amazing… I felt like I was looking at nature’s painting~

After the 1st ropeway, you have to alight and walk a short distance to the upper station for the 2nd ropeway.

We were so excited to see snow so couldn’t help but take more pics, lol~

The entrance point to the 2nd ropeway~

Waiting in line to go on the 2nd gondola…

The scenery was so exquisite I don’t think my phone camera did it any justice! It’s like looking at ink paintings, only that it’s real life. Look at this…

Arriving at the cafeteria, we wanted some hot meal for lunch to fend off the cold~

We shared this curry rice cos everything is expensive here and we figured it’s better if we just eat a little bit and return to Takayama for a more filling dinner.

A nice view while having lunch~

After eating, we went to the observatory deck but it was misty so we saw nothing LOL~ But there was a little surprise awaiting us. Right at the end of the cafeteria, there’s a door leading out…

And it was full-on SNOWING! Click on the vid below to view our (weird) snowman hahaha~

It was -10 degrees celcius and absolutely freezing. K took off one of his gloves for a better phone grip while photo-taking but less than a minute in, his hand turned red. I was feeling slightly breathless cos it took so much effort to walk around in the snow, but so fun! The snow felt soft like powder and we would have stayed longer but the ropeways have fixed departed timings and we were afraid of missing the ride, affecting our onsen trip.

Taking the gondola back to the 1st ropeway station…

Not crazy enough to take off our boots to dip in the waters, lol~

Look at the shape of the snowflake!

Waiting for the bus at the entrance…

You can buy onsen eggs here!

We arrived back at the Shinhotaka bus station.

The onsen is literally right in front of the bus station just a few mins walk away…

Here we are at the Hirayunomori hotspring!

Take off your shoes here~

Redeeming our free onsen at the counter~

There’s snacks and souvenirs available too~

Massage chairs and beverages corner~

It’s too bad I couldn’t take pics of the onsen cos the view was ethereal! Once you enter, there’s the changing room with the usual vanity facilities, then the shower/bathing area and indoor onsen. The onsen was quite big and there’s a door leading outside to several different pools.

Initially, I hesitated to go out into the open cos it’s winter time, mind you. But after sitting in the waters for some time, my body felt warm enough and I thought I’ll just have a quick look and if the cold is too much, I can always scuttle back.

So glad I took the leap of faith cos, that’s where the magic lies!

You can nestle in the warmth of the steaming water during winter, staring up the starry sky, with a glorious view of the Alps in front of your eyes!

Truly amazing!

I wanted so much to remember the view I saw, thinking how amazing God’s creations are. My body retained sufficient heat from the onsen so I had enough time to switch between pools without feeling uncomfortable despite the freezing temperature. There’s hardly any tourists, only a handful of locals- Old ladies who seem to know each other and enjoying their time in the hot pools. K told me the guy’s bath faces the alps but can’t really see the skies though~

It’s a pity we didn’t get our snacks cos we didn’t notice it had to be redeemed at the bus station instead of the onsen. And by the time we realized, the snack station was already closed for the day.

Taking the late bus back to Takayama, we decided to have dinner at this restaurant cos it’s empty.

I forgot how much this meal was exactly, only remembering it being very expensive. It kinda reminded us of our holiday a long time ago in Switzerland, where the meal was exorbitant but we were making the most out of it, laughing at how ridiculous the situation was yet glad we were laughing at it together. 🙂

In case you want to plan your itinerary, here’s the bus departure timings for Shinhotaka! I’ll highly recommend you to go earlier if you want more time playing in the snow during winter!

Bonus clip… Pranking K~ Hahaha~~~