I was finally able to visit the core of Aso.  Last time, I couldn’t see the whole thing in the rain clouds, but there was a swell of sticky lava, exposed bedrock towering as far as the eye could see, and it looked like there were cordons like construction sites all over the place.
aso crater1 with sticky lava
aso crater2 focus
aso crater6
aso crater7
When you look at it, you can feel that it is a volcano that is still active.  The most recent eruption occurred in October 2016.  Crater regulation information is updated daily, so if you don’t check it before you visit, you’ll be missing out even if the weather is nice.
Shiroyama view point on the edge of somma
aso caldera1 left
aso caldera2 center from shiroyama view point
aso caldera3 right
Aso approach
aso highway4 thin and aso left
aso highway5 thin and aso right
aso highway1
aso highway2 kuju
aso highway3 aso view
aso pasture1
aso komezuka
aso pasture3 bright thin
aso kuju mountains on somma
aso moutain
Aso crater and Kusasenri (The grass stretches for a thousand miles)
aso crater and kusasenri
Aso cattle are grazed on the mountain path along the way.  If you approach them carelessly, their eyes will turn bright red and threaten you.  I have seen bullfights, and when the fighting instinct comes to the fore, the bull’s eyes become bloodshot.  I’m looking forward to tonight’s beef steak.
I tried translating the name of this gorge into English without permission, so it became like this title.  So, please do not search seriously with this name. Anyway in the old days, you couldn’t pass each other without hugging each other.
River Tamagawa flowing through this gorge is cobalt blue.  It flows from Tamagawa Hot Spring* around Mt.Hachimantai, but since the strongly acidic water contains aluminum as a basic ion, the light with a short wavelength is scattered by its particles and the surface of water appears blue.  For the same reason, the water in Lake Tazawa looks blue due to injection of water of River Tamagawa long ago.
If you go sightseeing near here, you will definitely go to the famous Kakunodate with old samurai residence, but as a countryside lover, you should definitely visit the gorge that makes you feel the traces of a volcano.
*)A hot spring that warms your body with geothermal heat while wearing clothes in a sulfur-rich crater is worth a try. Simply lay a straw rug on the ground and lie on your back. You can also enjoy a bathing style where you just put your head out of a box filled with steam.
It is uncertain that Lake Tazawa is the site of a caldera volcano.  However, the lake is surrounded by outer ring mountains at the same altitude, but the bottom of the lake is lower than the sea level.  It means that the bottom of the lake is the same or more deep from the surface of the lake to the height of outer ring mountains.  It is a mystery where the volcanic product of such a volume were accumulated, so it has not ever been confirmed that Lake Tazawa came from caldera volcano or not.
blue gradation and cloud
The lake is so acidic that few fish live in it by drawing in the strong acidic hot spring water artificially. The moment the young girl realized her beauty, she realized that she would grow older.  The water of the fountain that she drank according to a message from God to keep her good looks turned her into a dragon, from which the name of Lake Tazawa came.  I was convinced by this legend when I looked at the lake that showed the mysterious blue gradation.
Horses and humans have a long history.  It is said that in early spring, a horse is seen in the shape of the remaining snow on the mountain and cultivation is started after the shape appears.  Therefore, there are many mountains in Japan with horses ‘Koma’ as their names.  Similarly, there are mountains all over Japan with Mt. Fuji as a part of the name, but all of them are called ‘the area name + Fuji’, which is similar to the shape of original Mt.Fuji.  However, ‘Komagatake’ has no originator, so each ‘Komagatake’ is an originator and the locals call it only ‘Komagatake’ without ‘the area name’.
alpine plant4 akita
alpine plant6 akita
alpine plant7 akita
alpine plant8 akita
Akita Komagatake is composed of two calderas, with a milky-white Nyuto hot spring in the north, a colorless Mizusawa hot spring in the west, and an emerald green Kunimi hot spring in the south.  It is a treasure trove of alpine plants because the airflow from the Sea of ​​Japan hits the mountains and clouds easily form. Therefore, even if the lower world is sunny, fog will be applied around the top and the temperature will be quite low even in the midsummer.
Akita-Komagatake in fog
Akita-Komagatake pond
There seems to be a Moomin valley in the flower field, but recently it was described on the website that there was a personal injury due to a bear. It’s something I don’t want to encounter in the fog. Certainly there was a metal rod that made a sound of a bear repellent, but I wondered how effective it was and gave up on going to Moomin Valley.
On the way down the mountain by shuttle bus
Lake Tazawa looks like a hand mirror.  I was convinced that it might be the remains of the caldera volcano.
The fireworks powder used sulfur mined from the volcano.  In the Edo period, the production of gunpowder was banned, and the technology was handed over only in areas related to the Tokugawa shogunate government. So, owning a volcanic area was of strategic importance.
Do you remember studying the flame reaction of metals in a junior high school science experiment?  The gorgeous color of fireworks is achieved by mixing a powder with a metal.  It comes from a metal that emits a single wavelength when an electron excited by explosive energy returns to its original state, producing a pure color.
like Rock Fes
The origin of fireworks is wolf smoke.  Fireworks are now enjoyed at night, but at the Ohmagari Fireworks Festival, you can also enjoy the daytime fireworks, that is, the colors and shapes of wolf smoke.
Daytime fireworks1
Daytime fireworks2
The Ohmagari Fireworks Festival was not just an event to enjoy fireworks, it was an examination committee that competed for the skills of fireworks masters.  The examiners were introduced on the public broadcast, but I didn’t know if it was work or play because they could see fireworks in the special seat.
The competition consists of three parts: a 30cm size concentric style fireworks ball, a freestyle of the same size, and creative fireworks that match the music.  A community FM station ‘HANABI’ was broadcasting the progress, but when listening to it on Internet radio via smartphone, there was too much time difference and it was difficult to listen to.  It will be also useful in the event of a disaster, so let’s buy one FM radio and bring it with you.
Fireworks at night1
Late check-in at Mizusawa Hot Spring
I parked a car near Tazawako station to avoid strong congestion around Ohmagari, where I might have not gone out even from the parking space at Ohmagari until next morning! (It’s true).  A local line was used between Ohmagari and Tazawako.  For the countryside, it was a crowded train like Tokyo.
Mountain cottage2
Mountain cottage1
Hot spring
<Caution !>
Many people come to see fireworks on a day trip by bullet tour from remote areas such as Tokyo and Sendai.  After the fireworks, it is possible to leave the venue in the early morning and it seems that the arrival will be around noon.
The Ohmagari Fireworks Festival is held every four seasons, but the summer 2020 has been canceled due to the covid-19.
The surface of the rock is exposed in the area due to the emission of sulfur gas.  The valley pond is boiling.  Mud erupts from the bottom of the earth with steam, and there are mud pots everywhere in the shape of Baby Volcano.  It is a landscape that looks like a miniature of a volcano.
Sulfur gas3
The origin of the name of ‘Goshogake’ is the idea of ​​reincarnation in Buddhism.  A young man who fell ill was recovered by a young pilgrimage daughter in this hot spring resort, and they got married.  However, due to the news of the wind, his wife, who had left home with children, visited and the young daughter prayed for their happiness and poured herself into the boiling water.  The wife, who was struck by the chest, followed her also praying (‘gake’ literally) being reborn (‘sho’ literally) after (‘go’ literally) the death.  It is a sad anecdote, but it is a story that conveys the utility and fear of a volcano at the same time.
There is a toilet at the entrance of the walk path, but there are metal cans and sticks in front of it, and it is written that you should strike it in advance to inform the bear. But if the bear inside heard the sound and came out of the toilet, I was wondering what to do.  Please do not encounter bears.
