The moment I reached the summit of Mount Zao, it felt as if I had fallen straight into a gigantic white kingdom of snow and ice several degrees below freezing. Everywhere I looked was a fantastical world completely covered in thick snow and frost. The cold air felt icy as I breathed it into my lungs, but the incredibly spectacular sight before me was exciting enough to make me completely forget the cold.
I struck a cool pose for a photo beside the sign, with a brilliant blue sky and wildly drifting white clouds behind me. In the distance, the rolling mountain ranges were all dressed in thick white coats of snow, making the whole scene look unbelievably cool. The most famous sights here are Zao's juhyo, the strangely shaped snow monsters. The entire mountainside is densely covered with fir trees that have been completely transformed by snow and ice. From a distance, they look like countless gigantic white monsters standing silently in the snow. This extraordinary sight carved by the incredible power of nature is something you have to see with your own eyes to understand just how breathtaking it is.
As I trudged through the deep snow, I also happened upon the Zao Jizo statue, dressed in red, wearing a traditional straw hat, and holding a staff, though it was almost buried in the heavy snow. Seeing only half of its body exposed as it stood in the swirling snow was both sacred and a little amusing. Taking a photo beside it gave me a wonderfully exhilarating feeling of being on an adventure through nature's snowy landscape.
As the sunlight streamed down from high above, the snow and ice-covered trees reflected a dazzling silvery-white glow, making the entire mountaintop sparkle like a dream. Exploring this snowy alpine wilderness and witnessing the spectacular giant juhyo with my own eyes was definitely the most thrilling and unforgettable grand finale to a winter trip!
Juhyo (Rime) in Zao (Yamagata Prefecture) | Review by Jk
Other Reviews by Jk
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The insider way to do it is to buy a one-way ticket up! Take the ropeway straight to the top with no effort, and as soon as you leave the summit station, you can walk onto the newly built, wave-shaped PEAK observation deck. Feel the sea breeze while looking out over unbeatable 360-degree ocean views and taking tons of photos. Then just follow the slope down to explore Senkoji Temple and Cat Alley, which is full of adorable cats. You won't have to climb uphill until your legs give out, and you can easily experience all the highlights of Onomichi's artsy route in one go! -
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Walk into the super-impressive Harukas 300 Observatory from Tennoji Station and take the incredibly fast dedicated elevator, which even has cool lighting effects on the ceiling. In just a few dozen seconds, before your ears can even adjust, you’re shot straight up to the 60th-floor Sky Corridor, 300 meters above the ground! Standing in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling glass windows with completely unobstructed 360-degree views, the entire Osaka cityscape instantly shrinks into an adorable LEGO model. You can clearly see Tsutenkaku Tower, Osaka Castle, Kyocera Dome, and, when the weather is especially good, even the distant Akashi Kaikyo Bridge and Awaji Island. That floating sensation of having the entire city beneath your feet is seriously breathtaking!
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