Okama

Took a ropeway from the zao village to the top and hiked for about one hr to reach the top. The hike is easy and scenic. The weather got too foggy as we reached the peak near the crater. So the view was blocked. It’s also quite windy up there.

Okama looks absolutely gorgeous in the early to mid April period, when the snow is partially covering the surrounding slopes, partly showing the brown earth below. Under a blue sky, this 残雪 (Zansetsu) scene offer in my opinion one of the best view of Okama. These are photos were taken at 13/4/2024 after a 45min hike from the Zao Jizo Sancho Station 蔵王ロープウェイ 地蔵山頂駅. Something to take note of: (1) the last descending cable car leave at 4:45pm at this time of the year, (2) The trails are mostly covered under loose melting snow, those trail without snow are very muddy. Although I did it with just a gaiter and not fully waterproof shoe, I would strongly suggest good waterproof shoe, gaiter, snowshoe or trekking pole. (3) You can find the gps route and more hiking info from Yamap. (4) These photos were shot at the viewpoint just to the east of Kumanodake 熊野岳 which I think offer better scenery at this time of year compared to the more southern viewpoints.

Fantastic experience visiting Okama. Parked at the visitor center entrance, with a fee of Y550. Took us ~2 hours to hike up to the peak and to see the stunning views. Along the way to the peak, you would already see amazing views of the Gokishinuma (5 colored pond) that was caused by volcanic activities in the past. Definitely recommend to go!

Brilliant place to go see if you like to walk in thin air! Take the chair lifts up to Omaga Zao Vocano instead of driving to the top. It’s more enjoyable, it’s cheep and more fun. The only downside is that they’ve stopped people wondering down to the edge. So they’ve built a stupid un-even causeway down to the volcano that’s very difficult to navigate!

Arrived around 1pm and whole place was cloudy with very low visibility. Walk closer and waited for 1.5 hrs to capture this… Beautiful! Patience paid off!