Mt. Zao....

On 29 September, Julia, George and I went with a few Japanese friends (Kyoko, Ritsuko, and Suzuki-san) to hike Mt. Zao.  

We started on our way at six-thirty in the morning.  It is a little over a two hour drive from Ishinomaki (the same area where we went to the fox park) in Yamagata prefecture.  Poor Julia had not gotten much sleep the night before, and so she spent the car ride sleeping.  

The hike itself was amazing.  Not too far, distance-wise, but very strenuous.  When we looked out over the valley, we could see a sea of clouds.  It was breath-taking.  


Our destination was the crater lake.  Depending on the weather, the color of the lake changes.  About half-way up the initial climb, we started to be able to see the lake.  At the top of the first hill, we found the outpost, meant for weary climbers during colder weather as a shelter to sleep in and pass the night safely.  Not far from the outpost is a shrine.



For inexperienced climbers, the shrine is the destination, with a path that leads down to overlook the lake and continue on to another outpost on the hill next door.  For the more experienced hiker, there is the option of jumping the fence (for George, Julia and I, it was a step over) and a strenuous hike down and around the lake itself.



Can you guess which path we took?






The hike was amazing, and we hit it at the right time.  The sea of clouds slowly made their way towards us, and if we had come later, they would have made the hike impossible (or at least extremely dangerous).  As it was, Suzuki-san did not feel comfortable with our choice of footwear and so he took us on the easier root down around the lake and then up to the top of the crater.

We hiked back down and enjoyed lunch by the lakeside.  An unexpected visitor decided to join us for a short time.


It was a really difficult hike on the way back.  The sun beating down on us, the hard climb, and not enough water landed me with a massive migraine by the time we reached the car.  While everyone went in to enjoy the onsen, I stayed in the car and tried to get some sleep.  Unfortunately, they were back too quickly.  I think the biggest mistake was trying to eat the ice cream that Julia had gotten me because I didn't want it to melt.  I think I got two bites (yes, my size bites =P) in before my stomach began to turn unpleasantly.  I was so embarrassed.....

Overall, though, it was a really good day.  I am so glad I got to go, and would not trade it for anything.  I hope to hike a few more times before leaving Japan--they have some really spectacular places here!