2011/10/26 - Autumn Color Report: Hakkodasan
The top of Mount Hakkoda was wrapped in clouds today
On the first day of a 2-day autumn color trip to the northern Tohoku Region, we visited Mount Hakkoda (八甲田山, Hakkōdasan), a volcano in Aomori Prefecture. The mountain lies along the road and JR bus line that connect Aomori City with Lake Towadako, from where we will be reporting tomorrow.
Mount Hakkoda offers nice mountain scenery for hiking in the warmer seasons and skiing in winter. Furthermore, there are several hot springs around the volcano, among which Sukayu Onsen with its large, wooden, gender mixed bath is the most popular and worth a stop over. Autumn colors around the mountain are usually best in the first half of October.
In December 2010, the Tohoku Shinkansen was extended to Aomori
In Aomori City, which is located at sea level, trees have started changing colors, and the seasonal spectacle improved as we gained elevation and approached Mount Hakkoda. However, by the time we reached the base of the mountain at around 1000 meters above sea level, the colors had thinned out considerably. In many areas around the mountain, the season had even already come to an end, and winter felt very close.
A few last colors remained around the base station of the Hakkoda Ropeway
Low bushes provide some nice colors in an otherwise barren birch tree forest
Despite some nicely colored grass, the Tashiro Marshland felt already rather wintery
Around Suiren Pond, too, the only remaining autumn colors were provided by the grass
Barren forest around the volcanically active Jigokunuma (Hell Pond)
The view down into lower elevations suggested that tomorrow's report will be more colorful
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