Hakuba Eye Candy

The spectacular Northern Alps (Hida Mountains) near Hakuba, Japan

As I write this, we are en route via Shinkansen (bullet train) to Nagaoka where we have science meetings this week.  Yesterday we toured around the Nagano, Myoko, and Joetsu area to gain an appreciation for the topography of the region as we will be examining the orographic modification of storms from the Sea of Japan in future research.  

A few of you have commented on the spectacular nature of the topography around Hakuba, which I can attest is even better in person than photos.  

If you wish to see more, head over to the Hakuba Mountainlife Magazine web site and take a gander at some of their incredible photography.  The magazine is a produced by Damian Banwell, a guide in the Hakuba area who we met with for dinner and beers one night to discuss mountain weather and climate.  Although he was teaching avy courses and unavailable for hire during our stay, he or his colleagues would be an excellent choice for guiding services if you make a visit to Hakuba.   More info here.