Mt. Bandai, in Fukushima, is a really beautiful, interesting mountain. It's shape and the topography all around it is the result of massive volcanic eruptions in the past. The latest eruption, in 1888, nearly wiped out the entire local population--all but 4 people who were out of the area for work at the time perished--eradicated a mountain peak, stopped a river, and created numerous swamps and lakes. Along with the mountain, these spots offer innumerable leisure opportunities from hiking and boating to ice fishing and skiing.
I think I will make another post about the stuff below the mountain in the near future.
It's my blog. I'll post about whatever I please. ;-)
This is a view of the north side of Mt. Bandai from our campground on Lake Hibara. Bandai is the higher peak on the right.
I was a bit nervous about this trip. The weather forecast was for thunderstorms, hail, brimstone, frogs, locusts, bats from Wuhan . . . This was my third trip up to this area. The first time it rained so hard, I just stayed in the campground the whole time. My first climb up Bandai was two years ago but this is all I got to see from the top.
Thankfully, the weathermen were wrong. It was gorgeous. Who says you need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows?
Our route:
That is a hotspring we encountered on the trail. There used to be public bath here. This spot is called Nakanoyu (中の湯).
It smells like hell. Really. It's the smell of sulfur.
From the top:
Looking south to Lake Inawashiro, the largest lake in the area.
Much better view than the last time!
There were a lot of dragonflies on the top.
This is Kevin, my sherpa.
When we were coming down, it was something to imagine that there used to be a mountainpeak towering here. Kevin kept saying, "The mountain blew up."
I hope I didn't post too many pictures for you. Less is more but it was really difficult to keep the number of pictures down. It's such a beautiful place.
More soon. Like I said, I think I'll make another post about the area below the mountain. Take care of yourselves.
I'm looking at the statistics on my blog and I am seeing people viewing it from every continent. That makes me curious. Who are you? How did you end up at my blog? Have we met?
Anyway, whoever and wherever you are, I hope you enjoy this blog. I try to pass on beautiful things that I come across and hope it brightens your day. If you're in Japan and are able to pick up some ideas for places to go and things to do, I'm really happy.
This is the second one I've seen in as many weeks.
I was hiking around Otsuki and Koshu yesterday. I discovered a cool tool on one of my hiking apps. Check this out.
I wish I had a better avatar than the one they assigned me.
Not many pictures yesterday. This one shows my path.
To get to the trailhead, you take Koshu Kaido west from Otsuki and follow the signs for Sasago Pass just before the long Shin-Sasago Tunnel that goes to Koshu City.
On the way to the pass, you go past the 矢立杉 ("archery quiver" "cedar"), a tree that is supposedly over 1,000 years old. The locals seem to be proud of it. There are lots of signs promoting it and a memorial there. The memorial has a device that will play the song for you. I'm sure it's all more meaningful to a native speaker. I would have been more interested if they billed it as an ent.
It wasn't a day with a lot of breathtaking views--but it was nice to see the sun for a change. Rainy season officially ended the day before. This picture shows Koshu City.
I had the good fortune to get a hike in between the raindrops at the end of this rainy season. I went to one of my favorite areas, just below Mt Daibosatsurei in Yamanashi.
Looking south. The tallest mountain is Daibosatsurei. That's one of my favorite mountains.
Looking north toward Karamatsuo and Saitama beyond.
This little shrine takes a bit of nerve to get to. There is a bit of bouldering involved. The views from this spot make it worthwhile, though.
Since we're still in rainy season, the streams and falls were spectacular. It's really tempting to post a million pictures. I'll hold back, though.
Since it's still rainy season, I decided to give up any hope of staying dry and just go hunting some waterfalls. As they say in the army, embrace the suck.
It was a wet day, but it was fun. The first part of the day, I went to the north side of Musashi Itsukaichi Station to take in the Shiraiwa Falls. And . . . since I was in the neighborhood, I decided to climb Mts Hinode and Aso while I was there. I seem incapable of putting on hiking boots without climbing at least one mountain.
After that, I headed a few miles away on my bike to see Kongo Falls. That was a much shorter walk, but a lot more worthwhile. That is a fun place!
The Kotokuji Shrine
This is cool!
And after climbing through that tunnel, this is the reward.
If you made it all the way to here on the blog post, you probably need to get a life. This one was long. I couldn't help but put up so many pictures. I really like running water.
Maybe the next blog post will have some sun in it. We'll see. Take care.
