It suddenly hit me that I only blog when I’ve traveled. How did that happen? Somehow, things which my family and friends back home probably find extraordinary have become ordinary to me. I am going to make it a point to blog more about non-travel events and ideas…After I tell you about my run in with the Yamagata Snow Monsters!
Yamagata is located in Tohoku, south of Akita, and was virtually unscathed by the Earthquake/Tsunami of 2011 since it’s on the western, China-facing coast. As part of my “Be Physically Present in All Prefectures of Japan” Goal, I went up there over the recent 3 day weekend with The Guy.
Knowing that Yamagata is about as far from the buzzing metropolis of Tokyo as you can get, we armed ourselves with thermal socks, coats and a plethora of action movies in case we were snowed in (We weren’t, but we watched T2:Judgment Day anyway).
The shinkansen ride was 2 hours long, and we passed through really pretty snow covered countryside. Being the southern California girl that I am, I still get over-excited by snow (That fascination wore off after The Guy swept his arms through waist high snow and hit me square in the face with a wave of the stuff). Yamagata City was small, even for a capital city, and fairly quiet. Our first day there we wandered to the old castle grounds, and then went to a mountainside temple complex called Yamadera. There are close to 1000 steps leading to the main temple at the top, and the ticket lady cheerfully told us to “Watch your step, it’s a bit slippery”.
I suppose in Yamagata-speak, it was only a “bit” slippery, but there was still at least 4 inches of snow on the ground.
The main event of Yamagata was seeing the snow monsters! On a particular mountainside near Zao Ski Resort, a large amount of wet snow falls on the fir trees. The snow freezes into near-horizontal icicles and then further snow builds up, eventually coating the trees and making them look like lumbering giants. The Guy and I spent about 10 minutes outside admiring their other worldliness before the -7/ 19 degree weather (not including wind chill) made my feet so cold I could barely walk. The Guy was kind enough to rub my toes back to life in the lift café, but I was ready to go home afterwards.
The main event of Yamagata was seeing the snow monsters! On a particular mountainside near Zao Ski Resort, a large amount of wet snow falls on the fir trees. The snow freezes into near-horizontal icicles and then further snow builds up, eventually coating the trees and making them look like lumbering giants. The Guy and I spent about 10 minutes outside admiring their other worldliness before the -7/ 19 degree weather (not including wind chill) made my feet so cold I could barely walk. The Guy was kind enough to rub my toes back to life in the lift café, but I was ready to go home afterwards.
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| These guys grow up to be... |
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| ....these guys! |
So, while Yamagata is a far cry from a bustling, adventure-around-every-corner prefecture, it was still nice to explore off the beaten track tourist sights.
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| A near run in with hypothermia, but a successful trek! |
As for my next entries, any suggestions? What would you like to hear about?
That's my kinda place! I would really love to go there someday!
ReplyDeleteAs far as the “Be Physically Present in All Prefectures of Japan” goal goes I really recommend the islands of Niijima and Yakushima!
ReplyDeleteYou would not be out of place there Polar Bear! I think if I had warmer shoes (my boots leaked) then I would've enjoyed being outside more.
DeleteI really want to go to Yakushima! I went to Niijima last July and it was fantastic! I loved getting away from Tokyo,yet still being in Tokyo!