Beautiful day in the Oze alpine marshland
Our second trip in the "Good things in Gunma" series of tours took us on an overnight trip to Oze National Park, located in the Northeastern part of Gunma and also parts of Fukushima, Tochigi and Niigata prefectures.
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But before heading to Oze, we made a quick stop at Fukiware no Taki (吹割の滝) to see the waterfalls in Numata city.
Unfortunately 2012 has been a very dry summer for Japan, and the falls were not as spectacular are they usually are (or so we were told). We then stopped in for lunch before making our way to Oze.
Lunch. Mmm, tempura...
We entered Oze from Hatomachi Toge (鳩待峠) where many hikers were resting after a long hike.
Hikers relaxing at Hatomachi Toge
The trails in Oze start as a somewhat precarious rock trail, then turn into a long trail of wooden planks. Since Oze is a national park, utmost care is taken to protect the natural environment, and as such it is forbidden to walk off of the designated paths.
Rock path at the very beginning of the trail
Wooden path that continues for the rest of the journey
Bears are fairly prevalent in Oze, and to make sure hikers don't get attacked, bells are located along the trails near bear feeding areas. Apparently ringing the bell signals to the bear that the hikers are humans, and not a threat, and the bears leave them alone.
"Hey I'm a human, don't eat me!" bell
After the initial 3.3km hike in (which takes a little more than an hour), we ended up at the Yama no Hana visitors' center to learn more about the Oze area and its flora and fauna.
Topographical map of Oze National Park
Presentation about the flora and fauna in Oze
We then made our way to the backpackers' Ryokan where we spent the night. Since this is in the middle of a national park, the use of soap and toothpaste is forbidden. The Ryokan had hotspring-style bath, but the use of soap, shampoo, etc is prohibited.
Yama no hana inn
Our room in the inn. That gray backpack is all I took with me.
Inside the inn
The tour group stargazes
In the morning we headed out on a long walk around the marshland. The weather was surprisingly similar to summer in Northern California--cool and slightly foggy in the morning, then dry and warm by mid day. Needless to say I felt right at home.
Disappearing morning fog in the alpine marshland
We even made it all the way to Fukushima prefecture (though we turned around and came right back to Gunma)
Sign marking the start of Fukushima Prefecture
Group photo on Yoppi Bridge
Near the end of our walk, we came across a section of the wooden path that was under construction. The boards only last about 10 years and have to be flown in by helicopter due to the remote location. Supplies for the inns inside Oze are carried in by workers since there is no access for vehicles.
Pathway under construction
Speaking of helicopters, we passed a woman who seemed to have a badly sprained or broken ankle, then later saw this helicopter fly in to pick her up. Appologies that you can hardly make out the helicopter in this photo--the maximum zoom on my lens was 50mm.
Helicopter flying in to rescue and injured hiker (I think)
Overall we were very lucky that the weather cooperated on our hike. Cloud cover or rain would have made it hard to take so many photos. I would highly recommend Oze as a destination for avid hikers, and even for city folk who come prepared (good walking shoes, extra water and snacks, OK with not using soap/toothpaste inside the park).
For more information about Oze National Park, here are some links (in English)
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/regional/gumma/oze_gunma.html
http://www.env.go.jp/en/nature/nps/park/parks/oze.html
