2026-07-04 A Relaxing Trip to Hakuba: Alpine Gondola, Stunning Mountain Views, and Heidi’’s Swing#

July 4th, today’s destination is Hakuba. Although this is a famous outdoor activity resort, considering neither of us has great physical stamina, and my wife is afraid of heights and strongly resists climbing stairs, we decided to arrange our itinerary for this day to be extremely relaxing.

To avoid exhausting mountain trails, we chose the easiest way—taking an enclosed gondola straight to the top, heading for the observation deck at a high altitude. As the gondola slowly ascended, our line of sight crossed the verdant mountains, and the magnificent Japanese Northern Alps gradually came into view. The high-altitude air was indeed refreshingly cool and comfortable.

However, because the view at the summit was too expansive, it was still quite a challenge for my wife, who is afraid of heights. After arriving at the observation deck, she didn’t dare to get too close to the edge of the cliff. Instead, she picked a relatively safe-feeling spot to rest and quietly admire the distant peaks.

Looking at the excellent scenery before me, I couldn’t help but decide to walk a short distance down the hillside by myself to explore different perspectives.

The gondola ticket package also included an open ski lift. This, of course, was “Mission Impossible” for my wife, so I had to ride it alone.

I made a small mistake while riding the ski lift: I was carrying two mobile phones at the time, holding one in my hand while the other was in my back pants pocket. Sitting on the suspended lift, I kept feeling there was a risk of the phone slipping and falling. Perhaps as I’ve grown older, I’ve become more timid, so I spent most of the time tightly covering my pants pocket with my hand. Logically, I knew it probably wouldn’t fall out even if I didn’t hold it; this was likely just a reflex action born of inner fear!

Although the process was a bit nerve-wracking, being able to take in the beautiful panoramic view made it all very worthwhile.

As mentioned before, this is Japan’s “Northern Alps” region, and the atmosphere is full of European alpine charm. In Hakuba, there are quite a few facilities themed around “Heidi, Girl of the Alps.” This is a Japanese animation from decades ago, with a story set in the European Alps. There is a classic swing scene in “Heidi,” and on the peak of Hakuba, it has been transformed into a physical, mechanical swing ride.

A Simple yet Delicious Lunch#

Taking the gondola back down the mountain, we calculated the time for the next bus to the train station and had a few tens of minutes to spare. It was also lunchtime, so we found a small shop nearby. We didn’t have high expectations and ordered two Western-style lunches: curry bread and French fries.

But it was surprisingly delicious! The curry and bread were a perfect match, and the freshly fried chips were very tasty. The only thing was that the portion was too large, so we almost packed away a whole portion of fries to go.

Next Stop: Oide Park#

Taking the bus back to the train station, Oide Park—to be continued in the next article.