Hike up Zao-san
...pictures from August 27, 2005

Zao is one of the taller mountains in the Miyagi/Fukushima/Yamagata area, and is a popular ski destination in winter. It's a steep 4 kilometre hike to the summit, which is around 3000 feet. I climbed it with a group of Japanese people from Ishinomaki who love to do outdoorsy stuff. We only saw a few other people on the entire mountain. At the top someone showed us a variety of bright red mushrooms that he had been picking along the way. When we got back down we headed to one of Zao's famous onsens (hot springs) to relax.