Context: I am from southeast asia and i have never experienced snow before. i booked a hotel in Matsumoto and planned to take a bus for a day trip in Kamikochi. (Yes I know it is quite dangerous, especially for someone who has never seen snow, but i did lots and lots of planning and continuously checked the weather especially on the day i went) For those who are not very familiar with the location, it is quite literally in the middle of Matsumoto and Takayama (1.5h bus both ways). It is “closed” during winter and there are no shops, amenities or hotels open. So it is quite literally in the middle of nowhere. The gates are also said to be closed but for some reason when i went they were wide open, with one security guard there to monitor traffic. (Also, if you plan to do the same trek during winter, the gates for the cars close at 5 but there is space for you to walk in even when the gates are closed)
I started my trek about noon on the 2nd of December. According to the [Alpico website](https://www.alpico.co.jp/en/timetable/matsumoto/r-takayama-matsumoto/), the last bus for Matsumoto departs at 6:05PM. I ended my trek a little too early and I reached back to the gates of Kamikochi at about 4PM, but better be safe than sorry, even if it was for 2 whole hours, right? Anyway I waited at the K-26 Nakanoyu bus stop (it was a sign, so i had to sit on the roadside to wait) for 2 hours to wait for the bus. By this time the gates were closed and the guards went hope. Sun was down and the only light source was a street lamp from the gates of Kamikochi. A car passed about once every few minutes. As it was getting late, i felt a little nervous as i was quite literally the only human around that i could see, but nonetheless i waited for the bus
At about 6:05PM, the bus still had not arrived and i was getting a little worried as i knew buses in japan normally come on time. I continued waiting anxiously until about 6:15PM when the bus finally arrived. I picked up my stuff and waved frantically for the bus to stop. The bus signalled… and then turned and left. I took a second and stood there in shock before i started running and shouting after the bus. But the bus just continued driving. Recalling what happened,
1. the bus was completely empty so it could’ve definitely accommodated me
2. i am 100% sure that the digital sign on the side of the bus said “Matsumoto”
3. I read the bus stop sign and the website multiple times. My bus stop was definitely a boarding and alighting bus so it’s not like i wasn’t allowed to board there
By this point i was in the -5° cold for a few hours and couldn’t think straight. i considered my options, either hitchhike back to Matsumoto or sleep in the Kamikochi tunnel until the next bus arrived the next morning. Luckily, there was one other bus that was leaving for Takayama at 7:03PM, so i quickly booked a hotel (luckily there was data there) in Takayama and thankfully managed to get on the 7:03PM bus. The next morning I took the first Alpico bus back to Matsumoto to get my luggage back from my original hotel.
So what did you think? Was this my fault or what could i have done differently?
TLDR: Got stuck at Kamikochi after the last bus drove past me, last minute booked a hotel in a city i didn’t plan on going, took the first bus back to my original hotel the next morning
7 comments
>i knew buses in japan normally come on time
Buses in rural Japan are notorious for being late or leaving earlier than scheduled all the time.
I mean… kind of. When parks and places like Kamikochi are closed in Japan, they really mean they’re closed. Stuff is unreliable in those situations.
But I bet it was beautiful!
I’m familiar with going to Kamikochi in the off-season and that bus definitely stops and picks you up without reservation.
Also that bus is normally very reliable. Maybe he missed you, normally nobody goes by bus in winter. Most people take a taxi and come by car so the driver wasn’t paying attention?
I’m not sure what happened but I would contact Nohi bus and at least let them know so it doesn’t happen to anybody else. Because yes, that’s not acceptable.
Edit: it is generally recommended for tourists to go with a guide in winter. But I know it’s quite expensive.
That was scary. Happy you are here to tell the tale.
It’s quite interesting. I am a foreigner living in Japan and I often do similar trips to remote places using public transport. I can think of two possible reasons for this weird experience:
1. The driver did not see you and forgot about the bus stop completely. I use the bus daily for commuting to work and the bus stop near by workplace is not very well lit. I go home quite late and its dark that time. But in 2+ years I have never had a bus go past me. But I live in a city whereas in remote areas it might be easier to miss a passenger.
2. I was curious, so I looked at the google map. There is a U-shaped turning and there are two bus stops (may be 30m afar) on either side of the turn – one for busses coming from Matsumoto and the other going towards Matsumoto. Are you sure you were standing at the correct bus stop (note that in Japan they have the same names for both these bus stops) ?
Thankfully you got another bus. I would never think of sleeping in the tunnel at that temperature. Also Nagano has some bears 😀 Hitchhiking is possible in Japan and I am certain some one would help out for sure. Alternatively, I can see on the maps that there is an onsen Inn located just 20 mins walk from the bus stop. I’d go there first and stay there for the night or use their assistance.
Was the ticket office closed? Couldn’t you have asked them? They can radio the buses iirc
I got stuck in Lake Tazawa this July after heavy rain hit Akita. You would think the train staff would be helpful but nope, they just said no more trains for the day, find your own way out so about 30 of us (all Japanese except for about 5 foreigners) were stuck there for hours. Most hauled a taxi out (40,000yen++ to Akita) and someone finally managed to convince a random Japanese tour bus to bring me to my next stop in Kakunodate.
I’ve had something similar to what happened to you in Shirahama too, but luckily that was only a 30 minute walk back to my ryokan. The bus was supposed to pick passengers up but showed that it was returning to the base station and passed me by.
In my observations, despite Japan being known for impeccable public transport, this isn’t the case for more rural areas. If a delay happens, however minor, the whole system goes wack and they’ll just stick to their original schedule/cancel allocated buses without announcements or accommodations. I’ve waited too many hours alone in quiet areas without a single human around to have complete faith in rural transport. Sometimes it’s truly not your fault.