Autumn Foliage 2019 near Mount Hakkoda and Suiren Pond / 秋紅葉 ２０１９年 八甲田山周辺と睡蓮沼

One of the things I love about living in Aomori City is to really be able to see the difference in the changing of the seasons. One of the best seasons is Autumn when the leaves change colors. There are so many different places to see the autumn foliage which makes almost every weekend in the fall an adventure. This year, we were heading to the Oirase Gorge and would be driving through the Hakkoda Mountain range.

青森に引っ越して、凄い気に入ったことは季節の変わり目がはっきりわかる。多分一番好きな季節は秋。秋と言えば紅葉。青森県で紅葉を見る場所は豊富ですね。僕と妻の週末になると、いろんなところの紅葉を見に行ったりしました。今年最初の紅葉場所に行こうと思ったのは奥入瀬渓流。八甲田山の道を通って行くことに決定。

Passing through the Kayano Plateau.

茅野高原を通ってます。

As we passed by the popular hot spring called Sukayu which was very crowded with other people also enjoying the autumn colors, we stopped a little further ahead where it was less crowded.

八甲田山の近くにある有名な温泉施設酢ヶ湯が結構込んでた。やっぱり日本人は紅葉が好きですね。酢ヶ湯の駐車場は満車だったので、もうちょっと先の駐車場に止まって、ちょっと周りを探索。

This is the entrance to one of the many walking trails around the mountain.

ここは一つの登山口になってます。

I only walked up a little ways. Perhaps we will explore this are more next summer.

ちょっとそこまで歩いてみた。来年の春か夏にもっと探索しようと思ってます。

The Hakkoda mountain range is a volcanic area. This is one of the volcanic fumarole sites. 

八甲田山は火現象跡地にもなってます。この場所は火山ガス噴気孔跡地です。

In this area, there are thirty-three stone statues of the Kannon Buddha to wish for the safety of all creatures in the area.

八甲田山の生き物の安全を願うために、三十三体の観音像が祀られてます。

We took a short walk to Jigokunuma which translates into English as "Hell Pond". 

地獄沼まで歩いた。

Jigokunuma (Hell Pond) / 地獄沼

Yes, I've started to take a lot of selfies when going to different places.

はい、自分もいろんな場所で自撮りをやってます。

A partial "Don" pose.

中途半端の”ドン”ポーズ。ドンは俺の友達。彼の写真を撮るたんびに両手を広げたポースをする。

My artsy picture.

ちょっと幻想的な写真を狙った。

Walking back to the parking lot.

駐車場に戻るところでした。

We spotted a trail near a botanical garden that is managed by a university.

戻る途中にある大学が管理してる植物園のところを覗いてみた。

A bit of moss.

焦げだ。

Back on the road as we continue to head towards the Oirase Gorge.

車に戻って奥入瀬渓流を目指す。

But wait, another side trip. This time to the Suiren Pond (yes, the sign says Suirennuma Pond, but numa is the word for "pond" so suirennuma pond would translate to "suiren pond pond"). Also, suiren is the Japanese word for "water-lily". This is the "Water-Lily Pond".

また寄り道をしました。奥入瀬渓流に行く途中に睡蓮沼に行ってみました。

The water lilies around this pond are in bloom from May to June.

八甲田山で睡蓮が咲く時期は５月から６月までです。

Hitting the road again as we continue our journey to the Oirase Gorge...

道路に戻ってまた奥入瀬渓流を目指す。。。