Tateyama hotel plans fun in the snow to deliver winter warmth

Late November mornings are crisp in Tateyama. No snow underfoot yet but the last of the autumn leaves are just about clinging to the trees and the upper reaches of the Tateyama Mountain Range are decorated with the early dustings of the coming winter snow. And there’s a real prospect of bears. 

In fact, the prospect of a bear encounter is real enough for Masahiro Shima to have felt the need to accompany us on an early morning walk to some of the quieter spots in the grounds of accommodation and outdoor facility, Tateyama Green Park Yoshimine, of which he is president and CEO of the facility’s management company. 

(Morning walk in the grounds of Tateyama Green Park Yoshimine, Tateyama Town, Toyama Prefecture.)

This is Japan’s great outdoors though, only fair then that we should share it with the locals, including bears, boars, monkeys and Japanese serow, according to Shima. Perhaps some of them will be in hibernation soon though, when the facility’s grounds become buried under one meter of winter-season snow. 

For now then, the going is pleasant as we pass the facility’s already hibernating lavender garden and vegetable patches.  

Tateyama Green Park Yoshimine occupies an enviable spot in this quiet corner of central Japan’s outdoors, sitting at the foot of the Tateyama mountains to the east. It’s hard to believe really, that the city of Toyama, with its sleek all-mod-cons train station (a shinkansen stop), world’s most attractive Starbucks (according to some, and good luck getting a seat) and urban corridors lined with pachinko parlors lies less than 10km to the northwest.

Conditions change quickly in these parts though - from urban grit to serene nature, coastal front to soaring mountains, heavy clouds to clear blue skies. Autumn to winter. Within an hour of arriving at Toyama Station, the visitor can be whisked away to Tateyama Green Park Yoshimine.

(A local told us that the mountains of Tateyama are shy. They shouldn’t be!)

The facility, and its expansive grounds, has been a go-to spot for vacationers within the region, and beyond, since its grand opening in 1997. It’s easy to see why. There’s plenty for guests and visitors to sink their teeth into here - “park golf” (larger balls, shorter fairways, and plenty of fun for everyone), a cross-country course, playground, BBQ facilities, observation towers, and mountain bike rental, among others.

And then there are the attractions to be found further afield, but within easy reach of the park. 

“Yoshimine is right in the heart of Toyama Prefecture so thinking about a one or two night stay you can go to Tateyama and the Alpen Route, the Torokko Train, the World Heritage Sites of Gokayama, or to the city of Himi to eat delicious fish, all of which are within about an hour away,” Tateyama Green Park Yoshimine General Manager Tatsuya Kobayashi said.

Shima himself recommended a visit to the Tateyama Museum of Toyama where the visitor can be enthralled by the history of worship that has unfolded over the centuries on Tateyama the mountain, considered one of the three holy mountains of Japan.  

Tateyama Shinko refers to a kind of mountain worship practiced here, in which the harsh conditions on the slopes of (Mt.) Tateyama were believed to reflect Buddhist visions of hell. Pilgrimages to the mountain were believed to lead to the rewards of a heaven-like realm that existed beyond the harsh climb, somewhere beyond the clouds floating above the mountain’s Oyama Peak.

Tateyama Museum of Toyama is located in the town’s historical area of Ashikura-ji, where shrines and other facilities and attractions related to Tateyama Shinko can be found on the northern side of the Joganji River. 

(The atmospheric Ashikura-ji Oyama Shrine, Tateyama Town, Toyama Prefecture.)

On display in the museum’s exhibit hall are examples of the Tateyama Mandala - centuries old Buddhist scrolls depicting mountain scenes, including those Tateyama Shinko visions of heaven and hell. Visits to the hall and explanations of the history of worship shouldn’t be missed, according to Shima. Next door to the hall Ashikura-ji Oyama Shrine, one of three shrines dedicated to Tateyama Shinko, sets a suitably atmospheric tone. Nearby, the Enmado - Hall of the Judge of Death and its displays of wood carvings of fearsome-looking deities, is as haunting as it is gripping. 

Ashikura-ji and the Tateyama Museum of Toyama are located just a few kilometers southwest of Green Park.

Accommodation options at Green Park include spacious but cozy tatami rooms in the Yoshime Heights building, cottages in the forest (pets OK in some) and spaces to park up the rig and camp.

(Tatami room, Tateyama Green Park Yoshimine.)

Of course, the Japanese staycation experience wouldn’t be complete without a steaming onsen soak, and Green Park duly obliges with its Yu-Land hot spring. There are four types of bath here fed with clear, natural hot spring waters that have the skin feeling silky smooth within minutes. We particularly enjoyed taking a soak in the nighttime driving rain, among the riverbed stones that furnish the outdoor bath. 

Yu-Land also comes with it, Restaurant Yoshimine where head chef Kenji Sasaki uses seasonal ingredients to serve delicious kaiseki cuisine, covering the flavors of the sea and the mountains, to onsen visitors and staying guests. 

(Tateyama Green Park Yoshimine chef Kenji Sasaki uses seasonal ingredients in his kaiseki dishes.)

At the time of visiting we tucked into courses of sashimi - including swordfish kobujime and amae-ebi shrimp fresh from the waters off of Toyama - grilled Tateyama pork flavored with miso, tempura, and a dessert of La France pear. 

The onsen and Sasaki’s cooking have been a mainstay for the visitors and guests at Green Park over the years, around 70 percent of whom come from within Toyama Prefecture, according to Shima.

“This is our strength. So we are able to keep going,” he said of the facility’s core customers, in a quiet nod to the challenges presented to the hospitality industry by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. 

Indeed, while maintaining this core, local customer base remains “a must,” the pandemic has seen Shima and his team venture in new directions, one step along the way of which has been the introduction of a yoga experience program during which participants have been able to reset mind and body amid Green Park’s natural surroundings. 

“We were thinking about how we should manage this facility during the pandemic and we came up with the concept of making this a “wellness tourism” hub. One of the programs that became part of this was the yoga experience,” Shima said.  

The team are also eyeing experiences involving Tateyama’s local ceramics, craft experiences using lavender grown on-site, and guided nature walks, among others.

In the more immediate future however, the heavy snows of winter, despite bringing an ethereal beauty to the area, present a different set of challenges to local tourism.

With the region’s celebrated Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route closed for the season, and other outdoor activities and facilities typically restricted by the winter conditions, Shima, the Green Park team, and others in Tateyama have been putting in place plans to address this seasonal imbalance. 

“If we continue like this then during winter the area will become deserted,” Shima said. “So, we thought about what we could do during the winter and decided to try an event in which people could enjoy the snow.”

The fun in the snow looks set to kick off in 2022 with the inaugural Snow Park event. Set to be held over the weekends of February 5-6 and 11-13 using space and facilities in Green Park itself, organizers are hoping the event will present a new way to enjoy winter in Tateyama. 

Snow Park is set to feature snow-based activities that include horseback riding, sledding, making “kamakura” snow houses, and even picnics in (or on) the snow, among others. Event goers will also be able to tuck into regional classics and sample other local wares that will showcase some of the characteristics of the Tateyama area at a collection of some 20 stalls to be set up around the event site.

A new event, a new way to have fun during the Tateyama winter, and new directions for the team at Tateyama Green Park Yoshimine. Now all that’s needed is the snow, and that soak in the onsen will feel even better than it already does.  

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