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in its supply of electricity to the Kansai
Region. The eastern end of the dam
houses a steep, long flight of stairs that
leads up the concrete-covered mountain
slope for an aerial view of the dam and
its surroundings.The sight of tons of
water spewing was enough to make me
feel quite insignificant.
Japan won my heart with her co-
lours, gentleness and beauty. This is
one classy lady that I hope to be able
to visit again.
ful not to slip and fall. In fact, I noticed
this in all the places that I visited. The
elderly do not just sit around doing noth-
ing. They are out and about, participating
in activities and walking tours. It was
really quite heartwarming to see.
A short distance away is the Kurobe
Dam, another major attraction along this
route. This is Japan’s tallest dam at 186
meters. It was constructed over a seven
year period and was completed in 1963.
The dam supports a hydropower plant
that the ubiquitous plastic food samples
seen outside virtually every restaurant in
Japan was invented in Gujo Hachiman.
This is where 70% of Japan’s “food
samples” are made. I had the opportunity
to try my hand at making shrimp tempura
and it came out looking pretty good.
The sheer peace and beauty that
surrounds you can literally be quite
breathtaking at times. The colours and
quality of air was just astounding. The
Tonami Tulip Gallery, located in Toyama
prefecture, is awash in a sea of colours.
The history of bulb cultivation can be
traced back to 1918 and at present, 250
varieties are being produced. At the park,
from late April through to the beginning
of May, one million tulips are in full
bloom in multiple, amazing colours.
Snow patrol
The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route opens
in April each year and one gets there on
the highland bus. I was not fortunate
enough to see the walls of snow, but the
view as the bus wove its way up higher
more than made up for it. I was told that
as the bus gradually climbs to higher
altitudes on its route from Bijodaira to
Murodo on the Toyama Prefecture side,
the walls of snow grow progressively
higher. These walls can apparently reach
heights to that of a six-story building.
They are one of the attractions of this
crossing and are known as Yuki no Otani
(the Great Snow Canyon). A cable-car
ride took me to the top of the snow-clad
mountain. The view was amazing and
I felt...hot! The sun was blazing and I
obviously had too many layers of clothes
on. The irony of the situation did not
escape me. Here I was on top of a snow
draped mountain and I was sweating.
One of the things that really fascinated
me was the number of elderly people who
were slowly walking around, being care-
Go at the right season and you will see beautiful colours on trees in full bloom
The dam supports a
hydropower plant in its
supply of electricity to the
Kansai Region
The Tateyama Kurobe
Alpine Route opens in April
each year and one gets
there on the highland bus