Murodo

Murodo is the high plateau at the top of the Alpine Route, reached by the Tateyama cable car to Bijodaira and the highland bus beyond, about 50 minutes up the toll road from Bijodaira. The road in is cleared each winter, and from mid-April the bus drives between the snow walls of the Yuki-no-Otani, which the operator says can stand up to 20 m. Visitors walk a stretch of the cleared road on foot until late June. Mikurigaike pond lies 15 minutes' walk from the terminal and stays under snow until about June.

Spring ski tourers come for April and May snow above the terminal, and Toyama Prefecture runs the area under its own safety rules. Anyone going beyond the marked zone around the terminal in April, May or November must file an entry form, online through Compass or at the safety desk in Murodo Terminal. Carry an avalanche beacon and a portable toilet, and keep out of the snow-clearing work zones. The prefecture also asks for mountain insurance, and it reminds visitors that Murodo has no managed slopes and that avalanches can release at any time.

Jigokudani, the steaming valley north of the terminal, belongs to Midagahara volcano, which JMA keeps at alert level 1 with strong heat and volcanic gas around the vents. Toyama's snow-season rules close Jigokudani and the ptarmigan protection zones to everyone. At level 2 the assumed crater area closes, and at level 3 JMA's plan restricts entry within about 1.5 km to 2.5 km of Jigokudani.

The Hotel Tateyama inside Murodo Terminal stopped taking overnight guests on 31 August 2026, and its shop and restaurant remain open. Mikurigaike Onsen and other lodges on the plateau take guests while the route is open. Tateyama is sacred ground for Oyama Shrine, whose summit shrine on Mt. Oyama at 3,003 m is staffed from 1 July to 30 September.