"上高地?""OK, why not?"
Kamikochi (or 上高地) is the name of the place, but it sounds like a bloody good suggestion to go somewhere higher. And in the month of July when the TV is reminding Tokyoites of the hot summer, I don't see anyone turning down an offer to 上高地.
Kamikochi is in the Japanese Alps, a mountain range found in Nagano.
From the colorful brochure that they are handling out at travel agents and train stations, this place looks like the Japanese version of JiuZaigou. What with the advertised crystal clear lakes/ponds and read leaves in Autumn.
At 1500m above sea level, it was a cool place to visit in summer. But being that high, Japan Railway (JR) won't bring you that high up. And a train will really spoil the environment. So, JR takes you as far as the Matsumoto station. After that, the Matsumoto Electric Railway takes over, taking you as far up as the Shin-Shima-Shima (nope, you are not hearing echo of 'Shima' from the mountain) station. And this is where the railroad ends. The rest of the ascent will be done on a bus.
I can see great potential here for this place in Spring (when the snow on the mountain cap is thicker), or Autumn (when the leaves turns red), but in Summer it was a bit too green for my liking.
An word of advice: don't rush for the first toilet you see when the buses dump you at the Kamikochi Visitor Centre. This toilet charge 100Yen for its use. The collection box says 100Yen is the suggested amount. But the guy sitting beside the box has this intense expression that suggest he is trained to listen by the drop of the coin if anyone is trying to cheat with a 10Yen coin. Everywhere else I see, the public toilets here are free.
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