Oct 25, 2013 - 1 min read

Walking in the Shadow of Tanigawa

Snow Country Trail

By C. Rio

Community writer

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Looking down the valley (Photo: Matthew Shewchuk)

Mid-summer flowers (Photo: Matthew Shewchuk)

Ichi no kuro filled with snow even in the middle of summer (Photo: Matthew Shewchuk)

This part of the trail is still in great condition after hundreds of years of use (Photo: Matthew Shewchuk)

Everything in bloom (Photo: Matthew Shewchuk)

Some of the many waterfalls (Photo: Matthew Shewchuk)

More waterfalls (Photo: Matthew Shewchuk)

This section of the Snow Country Trail follows the old Route 291. In its heyday, this was one of the main trade routes from the east coast of Japan to the west coast. Goods were transported over this trail for hundreds of years, making the grueling 3 day journey over the mountain pass. In present day, it only transports the occasional hiker from Gunma over to Niigata. I started this hike from the base of Tanigawadake and followed 291 as it traversed its flanks, slowly rising out of the valley. The trail starts out wide and flat but quickly narrows into a single track.