Nasu-dake (那須岳)

Visited Nasu-dake on 16th Oct (Sunday) by Tohoku Shinkansen to Nasu-Shiobara, then by bus. Bus took 1hr+ but traffic grinded to a halt after passing Nasu-Kogen, before reaching the Nasu ropeway as the final stop. The bus driver was nice to suggest that hiking to the ropeway was possible in about 20min. Some of the passengers included me of took his suggestion. It was quite a steep climb along the road and also cutting through via footpaths.  I finally reached the ropeway station after noon time. Realized that so many people were visiting, I had a quick soba then queued up for the ropeway.  Reached the top station @1684m past 1pm, then quickly commenced hiking. Though it was a clear day, strong gusty wind blew amidst a very steep climb. About 30min later, I was rewarded with gorgeous views of Koyo laden Nasu-dake. With another 45min to reach the summit of Chausu-dake @1800m, I decided to turn back at that point. There was no more Koyo upward, and I needed to queue for both the return ropeway and bus.

Queued for bus after 2:30pm. Slightly after 3pm the bus arrived and the bus driver nicely let us embark, though it could not depart before 3:30pm. The bus was so full.  I was lucky to have a seat while some had to stand for more than 2 hours before reaching the nearest JR station. Traffic was really heavy.

Yamagata Zao (山形蔵王)

arrived at Yamagata Zao onsen town. Took Zao ropeway to Juhyo-Kogen station.  Took lift and hiked to Iroha-numa in about 20min for Koyo. 

travel guide

Okama (御釜)

drove along the Zao Eco-line with nice Koyo views around 1400-1500m. Reached a car park and took lift to Okama at about 1700m.

Had seen photos of Okama before but was stunned at its huge size. The crater lake was filled with turquoise water and it was truly beautiful,  with a backdrop of blue sky and moving white clouds in the distance.

Hiked for about 15min to reach the summit of Toggata @1759m. As usual, there is a small Jinja up there. Though it is a normal weekday, there were many visitors, while the nearby payable car park was full. on the way back to Fukushima city to return car, stopped by a waterfall viewing deck then Toggata onsen town, which I last visited in 2001 for day onsen.

==> Part 4 ==>

First visit to Dewa Sanzan (出羽三山) in Tsuruoka (鶴岡), in northwest of Yamagata Prefecture, not for fall foliage but for 3 famous sacred mountains. Visited 2 of them in this trip.

Hagurosan (羽黒山)

This is the mountain which opens all year round and is easily accessible by bus to the mountain top, where there is a Haguro-san Shrine (三神合祭殿), which houses the deities of the 3 Dewa Sanzan shrines. At the foothill, there is a 5-storied pagoda (五重塔) and the Zuishinmon (随神門), where the approach to the Haguro-san trail begins.

Yudonosan (湯殿山)

The other sacred mountain symbolizing “rebirth”.  Drove via a toll road and took a shuttle bus and started a short walk to the inner shrine. The inner shrine area prohibits photography – all the photos were taken outside of that area, and where all visitors are required to follow a purification ritual on bare feet.  This is unique among all the shrines I have visited in Japan.

travel guide

==> Part 3 ==>

First “Koyo” trip in 2016 in 2nd week of October. Visited Fukushima and Yamagata Prefectures in Tohoku by car. On another day, visited Nasu-dake by public transports.  Overall, fall colours were in general 5 to 7 days later than yearly average.

Mt Adatara (安達太良山)

Prior to the visit, noticed from its local blog that peak foliage was about 5 to 7 days later than yearly average.

Stayed overnight in Dake onsen prior to heading to Mt Adatara the next day. Picked an onsen ryokan facing the Mirror pond (鏡が池). Drove up to parking lot at the ropeway base and it was full that many cars were parked along the hill slope – I followed 🙂 From the top of the ropeway @1350m, hiked for about 30min to an open area where the summits and peak fall foliage could be viewed clearly. Did not hike up to the summit @1700m (which would take another 2 hrs to return) as I needed to dash for the nearby Bandai Azuma Skyline @1600m.

local website

Bandai Azuma Skyline (磐梯吾妻スカイライン)

Took about an hour (about 30km) to reach the top Jodo-daira @1600m (浄土平) of the Skyline through numerous elbow turns. Traffic was quite busy even on a weekday, which was a good sign that peak foliage was up there! Took a quick stroll to the nearby Oke-numa (桶沼). Reflections and colours of the small pond was gorgeous ! The best shooting spots were up on two benches and I had to take turns with several local ladies 🙂  One of the many nice things in Japan is that locals are in general courteous and form a queue by themselves if needed.

Bandai Azuma Lakeline (磐梯吾妻レークライン)

Left Shodo-daira without lunch – there’s a huge restaurant up on 1600m and the chargeable car park was full! and head straight to Urabandai via the Bandai Azuma Lakeline. Had a quick soba as late lunch nearby Hibara-ko and then head straight to Shirabu onsen ryokan (about 74km) before dusk. As the colours were still greenish at lower elevations I did not bother to stopover. Besides, I had last visited these locations in late Oct 2014.

 ==> go to Part 2 ===>

Urabandai (裏磐梯) > Nakatsugawa (中津川渓谷)

Visited Urabandai 4 times before but all by public transports. In this trip, rented a car from Fukushima and drove along the Bandai Skyline to Urabandai and stopped by Nakatsugawa, whose fall foliage was at peak.

Hibara-ko (桧原湖) > Akimoto-ko (秋元湖) > Goshiki-numa (五色沼)

5th visit to Hibara-ko and Goshiki-numa. Fall foliage was slightly after peak though scenery in smaller ponds such as Renke-numa, Sohara-ko looked awesome. Walked along parts of the Goshiki-numa trail again – a bit disappointed in Ruri-numa and Bishamon-numa as foliage has faded and many leaves had fallen.

Aizu-Wakamatsu (會津若松)

Stayed in onsen hotel in Hibara-ko. On next morning, headed to Aizu-Wakamatsu to visit its castle and we were lucky to have peak foliage.  Stayed in Higashiyama onsen uphill from city centre.

On next day, drove past Inawashiro-ko and returned car in Koriyama. Stayed in Tokyo over weekend before leaving Japan.

Visited Oirase, Towada-ko and Mt Hakkoda for the 1st time. Re-visited part of Urabandai but added new locations such as Nagatsugawa, Aizu-Wakamatsu etc.

Oirase stream (奧入瀨溪流)

It stretches for about 14km, draining water from nearby Towada-ko. There are easy foot trails covering most of the stream. As we visited during peak Koyo season by car, we stopped by at various scenic spots and did not cover the entire trail on foot.

Towada-ko (十和田湖)

Visited the observatory by car. As most of the lake rim is surrounded by cliffs without road access, we took the lake cruise which offered stunning views of Koyo. These views reminded us of our past visits in Chuzenji-ko in Oku-Nikko. There are easy walking paths along the lake rim, along the pier.

Hakkoda-san (八甲田山)

Took the ropeway to top station @1600m and followed foot trails for an easy walk. Koyo has already finished leaving pale brown forest views along the ropeway ride. Along the foot trails, there were lush green coniferous forests, dotted by occasional ponds.

==> Part 2 ==>>