Mount Zao
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July 22, 2015 - Mount Zao
Zao Onsen 蔵王温泉 is a popular ski-resort, but is way more quiet outside of winter. The place can boast some seriously beautiful hiking trails though, one that leads to the Okama Caldera Lake 御釜 which has reopened on June 22nd, 2015 after being closed for security reasons. It is also possible to hike the green ski slopes, the forested areas of the mountain and the Iroha-numa swamp いろは沼. After descending again there is also the possibility to enjoy an onsen in town.
I was seriously troubled on what to do on my second day in Sendai. There’s the Michinoku Park but that’s difficult to reach without car. There’s Akiu but I did not find enough information to my taste. There’s the Kirin Brewery but I already did one in Sanda. There’s Hiraizumi but it seemed quite a distance away. There’s the Naruko Gorge but it was unclear whether the most scenic path had already reopened.
Eventually I decided to take on Mount Zao which has just only reopened exactly one month earlier. At least if it wasn’t raining.
Already for 2 weeks the weather forecast was off, so when they predicted rain for the day I just ignored it and hoped for the best. And rightfully so, because there weren’t even clouds in the air.
Disappointingly though, the direct connection between Sendai and Zao Onsen only runs in winter, so I had to take the train to Yamagata (there’s also a bus) and then the bus to Zao Onsen. Once arrived in this ski resort it’s very easy to find your way to the cable car, although there can be some confusion: to reach Mount Zao one has to take the Zao Ropeway and not the Zao Chuo Ropeway which is closer to the bus station. It’s also possible to climb the whole mountain to the top, but I decided to take the Zao Ropeway up (divided by 1 stopover) because I couldn’t figure out how much time it would take me. A wise decision, because the top and the walk to the Okama Caldera Lake were breathtaking so I needed a lot of time to take pictures. On the way down I got off at the first ropeway station and wandered around Iroha-numa, a small but charming swamp. It was a bit disappointing that there weren’t many flowers in bloom, but all in all it was a pretty satisfying closer of a perfect hiking daytrip.
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List of Posts:
2017/03/11 - Reversible Destiny at Yoro & Ogaki 2017/01/28 - Miyama - Kabuki-no-Sato - 2016/11/26 - Yatsubuchi-no-Taki 2016/11/23 - Takeda Castle Ruins 2016/11/19 - Menfudo Limestone Cave 2016/07/31 - Wagashi in Kyoto 2016/07/23 - Norikura Heights 2016/07/01 - Hakodate 2016/06/30 - Onuma Park 2016/06/29 - Exploring part of the Shikotsu-Toya National Park 2016/06/28 - To central Hokkaido 2016/06/27 - Historic Village of Hokkaido 2016/02/03 - Himeji: the real castle and the fake one 2015/09/25 - Izu Peninsula: Atami, Shimoda & Cape Irozaki 2015/07/23 - Sendai 2015/07/22 - Mount Zao 2015/07/21 - Matsushima 2015/05/30 - Climbing Mount Iwawaki 2015/03/22 - Beppu 2015/03/21 - Kunisaki Peninsula 2015/03/20 - Takachiho 2015/03/19 - Kumamoto 2015/01/12 - Satsukiyama - Minoh hike 2014/11/01 - Aizu-Wakamatsu 2014/10/31 - Sadogashima 2014/10/30 - Kurobe Gorge 2014/01/25 - Fushimi Inari hike 2014/01/04 - Hidden Nachi Falls |
