Oze: Approaching Peak

Continuing with our autumn color reports, I visited Oze National Park today. The national park, which extends into four prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Fukushima and Niigata, is a popular hiking destination. Come fall, it is also one of the places that offer autumn colors early in the season.

Ozegahara Marshland is located in the national park, and it is one of the most well-known sites. The marshland is situated at about 1400 meters in elevation, and the grasses there turn from green to golden brown in autumn.

I started my hike from Hatomachitoge, which is in Gunma Prefecture. Private cars are not allowed to drive to the trailhead. Instead, shuttle buses and taxis from the Tokura bus stop or car park provide access to the Hatomachitoge trailhead. The one way journey costs 1300 yen and takes about 25 minutes.

The Hatomachitoge trailhead is situated at an elevation of almost 1600 meters, and from there it is an approximately 60 minute downhill walk through a forest to the entrance of Ozegahara Marshland. I found that the colors along the first part of my walk were just starting to change, and I expect the leaves to take on more red, yellow and orange hues over the next few days. It must be said, however, in the few times that I have walked through the forest in autumn, I have not seen the leaves in the forest change colors completely.

From there, it is another 30 minute walk into Ozegahara Marshland, the main destination of my hike. I found the marsh grass to be approaching their best, and I expect the colors to develop more through this coming weekend and into next week.