Tateyama Alpine Route Tour?

Hi, I'm planning an alpine route day trip from Tokyo with my friends and was very confused about the process of how I can go there from Tokyo. Is the cable car I've read about a compulsory aspect of the trip or do I have alternatives to head to the route?

Any help is appreciated.

The Gondola is the 2nd stage, the Kurobe Dam is the fist stage. After the ropeway is Murodo (near the top) and then the great Tateyama snow wall (6 stories high).

Access from Tokyo is easy - theres 3 options - listed from most expensive to cheapest; 1) bullet train to Nagano then bus to Omachi 2)normal train from Tokyo to Omachi. 3) bus from Tokyo (shinjuku) to Omachi. (Omachi is the east end of the Alpine Route. Tateyama is the West end). You can then get a bullet train all the way from Toyama back to Tokyo, or a normal train through Itoigawa back to Tokyo. There is probably a bus service from Toyama to Tokyo too, though i am not sure.

Have you had a look at the Alpine Route website? It has a lot of helpful information http://www.alpen-route.com/en/