At 8:15 a.m. sharp, the bus doors close. Seven passengers (including myself) are aboard the first bus of the season from Matsumoto Station to the Utsukushigahara Highlands, an open plateau in Nagano Prefecture's Yatsugatake-Chushin Kogen Quasi-National Park. Situated to the east of the city of Matsumoto, the highlands are home to an incredible grassland landscape, rolling hills and an open-air sculpture museum.
The 1¼-hour drive to our highland destination takes us through steep, winding roads barely wide enough to accommodate two vehicles. As the bus chugs on to higher elevations, we are granted awe-inspiring views: Far in the distance, partially shrouded in clouds, the snow capped peaks of the Japan Alps cut across the intensely blue summer morning sky. To the south, I spy Mount Fuji.
My plan for the day is a nature-meets-art expedition. First, to take a 90-minute hike across the highlands to the Utsukushigahara Open-Air Museum, then stop for a short lunch, take in some art for an hour or so and finally hike back to the bus stop to catch the last bus of the day at 4:30 p.m.