Of Course Japan Has A “Snow Highway”

Architizer News

Of Course Japan Has A “Snow Highway”

February 11, 2013

Photo via flickr

Having survived the great Nor’Easter of 2013 (otherwise not known as “Nemo”), and now with the near foot-yield of snowfall virtually erased by rain, we’re already feeling a little nostalgic for the powdery stuff. (True, had we been just that much more north and east, we’d probably be singing a different tune.) These photos of Japan’s Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, for instance, have us hoping for many more canonical blizzards, sled rides, and snowmen.

The route, which links the Tateyama and Omachi municipalities, is a tourist destination. Where the road passes through the Hida Mountains, monolithic walls of packed snow bound either side of the motorway. The 20-meter-high corridor was sculpted using snowblowers and backhoe. The path was completed in 1981 and continues to draw tourists, actually only tourists—the road only services charter buses of gawking visitors—to this day. Click through for more photos!