Yamada Ranch, a plateau 1,500m up.
What to see in each season, and how to get there

Drive up the Matsukawa Gorge in Takayama Village, Nagano, and you come out onto a plateau called Yamada Ranch.

It stands 1,500m up. The land opens suddenly as you leave the gorge, and the change of scene surprises most people the first time.

Below we set out what to see in each season and how to get there, using information published by the Shinshu Takayama Village Tourism Association. It is about 15 minutes by car from MATSUKAWAKAN.

A public ranch since 1900, with cattle and horses across 159 hectares

According to Takayama Village, Yamada Ranch is a public ranch founded in 1900. More than a hundred cattle and horses graze across 159 hectares of pasture.

What you see out on the grass is black wagyu cattle and horses, taking their time. Overhead, golden eagles appear now and then.

The Shinshu Takayama Village Tourism Association describes the area as the Tyrol of Shinshu, for its sweeping view over the Five Peaks of northern Shinshu and the Northern Alps, close to a European mountain landscape.

Okuyamada Onsen shares the same ground. It is described as a hot spring 1,500m up, with cloudy simple sulphur water and a source temperature of 72.9°C.

The sunset here is a designated Shinshu Sunset Point

Takayama Village presents the view of the Northern Alps at dusk from Yamada Ranch as one of the designated Shinshu Sunset Points.

The Shinshu Takayama Village Tourism Association describes it as the sun setting into the Northern Alps, and names summer and autumn as the seasons to come.

If sunset is the point of the trip, note that there is parking but not always a toilet. Set off from Yamada Onsen ready.

Sunset times move a great deal across the year. If you are staying at MATSUKAWAKAN, work backwards from your dinner time to fix when to leave.

The stars are clear at night, and a coat is needed even in summer

The Shinshu Takayama Village Tourism Association writes of countless stars seen from Yamada Ranch, 1,500m up. It is a place to lie back, look for constellations and count shooting stars.

It also asks visitors to bring a coat or a blanket, because nights at Yamada Ranch are cold even in summer. At 1,500m the air feels quite unlike the valley floor.

Around 1,600m on the ranch there is also a colony of Ezo hydrangea. In summer you can take the flowers and the stars in a single outing.

Autumn colour arrives around 10 October, two weeks before the gorge

In the autumn feature from the Shinshu Takayama Village Tourism Association, Yamada Ranch sits at 1,500m and usually peaks around 10 October.

Yamada Onsen below, at 900m, turns around 25 October. Within the same village, that is a gap of about two weeks.

Takayama Village also names Ogasa, which looks across at the ranch, and the area around the Second Ranch, as places to see the colour.

The full table of peak dates by altitude is in autumn colours in the Matsukawa Gorge.

In winter it becomes the Yamaboku Wild Snow Park

In winter Yamada Ranch becomes a ski area called the Yamaboku Wild Snow Park.

The Shinshu Takayama Village Tourism Association describes it as spreading across the southern slope of Mount Kasa, the landmark of the Shiga Highlands, with runs laid over the ranch itself from 1,500m to 1,750m. From the top of the slopes the Northern Alps stand out in full.

The most recent season is listed as 20 December 2025 to 15 March 2026, open from 9:00 to 16:30. The dates can move with the snow.

Out of the snow season, the campground on the ranch runs from late April to October. In the 2024 financial year Takayama Village also built a rest hut and a trekking course on the ranch.

If you drive in winter, please fit snow tyres for the road beyond Yamada Onsen as well.

Fifteen minutes by car from Yamada Onsen, up the Matsukawa Gorge

From MATSUKAWAKAN to Yamada Ranch is about 15 minutes by car. Kaminari Falls sits on the same road.

The village autumn bulletin gives 9km between Yamada Ranch and Yamada Onsen, normally 20 minutes. At the height of the autumn season the same stretch takes over an hour. Coaches use this road, so leave yourself room in October.

So the ranch and the falls fit into one outing. The walk at the falls is set out in Kaminari Falls, the waterfall you see from behind.

Beyond the ranch stands Mount Kasa. The official Nagano tourism site describes a two-hour climb, the first half of it through grazing land, with the Northern Alps and Mount Yokote visible from the summit. The mountain opens each year in late May.

Back from the plateau, the free-flowing hot spring water at MATSUKAWAKAN is waiting. How to build the day is in a model itinerary for Takayama Village.

Frequently asked questions