Best Attractions and Places to See in Mutsu, Japan
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List of Best Things to do in Mutsu
Mt. Osore Bodaiji Temple
Lake Usoriyama
Mt. Osore Sai no Kawara
Yagen River
Kamafuseyama Observatory
Sanzu River
Shimokita Koutsu Bus
Hiyamizu of Mt. Osore
Michi-no-Eki Lake Kawauchi
Taijima Island
Mt. Osorezan Gateway to Hell
Eerie. Sulfuric. Hissing. A few of the words used in our travel guide, and more intriguing than those of a typical Japanese destination. We headed north to the Aomori prefecture to witness these curious adjectives first hand.
Once in Mutsu, we boarded the local bus to Mt. Osorezen. The road up the mountain proved scenic. Subtly, quietly, slow chanting was piped through the buses intercom, electronic ghosts in the crackling of broken speakers. A glance at the only other foreigner we'd seen for half a week brought a moment of comfort as we shared a similar edition of the Lonely Planet. Comrades via travelogue!
The brakes squeaked in discordant harmony and there was an unannounced, (or perhaps announced - who knows) roadside stop to a mountain spring. The locals escaped the bus to fill waiting cups with cool water. Willing to try anything we participated in drinking. A sudden flash of potential intestinal regret, but we shrugged it off and returned to the crackling.
As the bus rolled to the top of the mountain the initial impression was normalcy, but then the breeze picked up and you could hear a squeaking rising in volume with the swirls of the gusts. We walked onto temple grounds and the pinwheels left behind by grieving parents came into view, thousands of colorful sticks whirling, some intact, some forced apart, others lying sideways on the rock cairns. The images viewed through a lens seemed limitless.
A few shooting hours later, hungry and completely windblown, we entered the only cafe for a cool ice cream treat. Was it ice cream? We don't know. It was cold... sorta. Paying the bill the waitress asked hastily, Bus-Ka? Without our answer she ran out of the restaurant flagging down the latest return ride into town. Many X hand gestures later we convinced her we were not ready to leave.
Going back for a second pass, there was still plenty of viewfinder and shutter exertion remaining. A few hundred exposures later the light turned into magic hour. Perfect! Unfortunately it was time to catch the final bus to Mutsu which was anxiously idling in the parking lot 500 meters away. Grabbing our gear and making a run for it we both saw the same must have image. Only one of us could get it while the other held the bus.
You can do it, get the shot!
I ran to the eerie statues silhouetted against the hissing sulphur sky. I fired the shutter 3 times. Best shots of the day.
--Alicia
Mt. Osore
Mount Osore is a caldera volcano in the center of remote Shimokita Peninsula of Aomori Prefecture, Japan. According to popular mythology, Mount Osore (literally Mount Fear) marks the entrance to Hell, with a small brook running to the neighboring Lake Usori that is equated to the Sanzu River, a river that deceased souls needed to cross of their way to the afterlife. The Sanzu River, or “River of Three Crossings,” is believed to be the boundary between the realms of the living and the dead. Based on Buddhist beliefs, depending on how well a person lived their life dictates how easy their transition across the river will be, whether it be via a bridge, ford, or wading through snake-infested waters. There are four alleged Sanzu rivers in Japan; the one located near Mount Osore is the most northern. The area has gained a considerable reputation due to the very volcanically-active site and its charred landscape, which is well known for the blasted rocks covering it and being filled with bubbling pits that are noted for their unearthly hues and noxious fumes. The fumes from these pits are caused by the sulfur fumes emitting from the volcano below, which have helped in adding to the underworld connotation of the site. The site is also said to be guarded by Jizo, the bodhisattva of Hell and guardian of children.
Mt Osore 3
Mt. Osore in Northern Japan! Freakiest Place I have Ever Been Too!! The Japanese Call It The Gateway to the Dead All the pebbles represent an ancestor..generations of them!
Osorezan: Fear Mountain, Gateway to Hell - Mysterious Japan - Go!Go!Tohoku!!
A desolate volcanic landscape covered in ashes, the smell of sulfur in the air, a lake of blood, signs warning visitors of poisonous pit vipers, and a name that literally means “Fear Mountain”; Osorezan may not be the most inviting place to visit! However, this mysterious mountain attracts many visitors from all over Japan and the world, due to its long history and the mystical aura that surrounds the site.
Osorezan was once referred to as Usori by the Ainu before being converted to Osore in the Japanese language. When Buddhism arrived to Japan, Osorezan became the site where the souls of the deceased move on to the next life.
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Osorezan: The Mountain of Fear
Osorezan is the gateway to hell, where Japanese commune with the dead and ask Jizo gods to take their earthly suffering. Since it was founded in the 9th century by Buddhist Master Jikaku En 'nin, Osorezan has become one of the most sacred locations in Japan. Supersitions aside, Osorezan is a ring of mountains around a sulfer lake that is fed by boiling streams bubbling from the ground.
Aomori Adventures - Mt Osorezan
Sacred sulphur at Mt Osorezan
Sarah Outen finds both the sacred and the sulphurous at Mt Osorezan in Japan.
Follow her journey from' London2London:Via the World' at sarahouten.com
AOMORI 恐山 OSOREZAN Gateway to Hell
寺名：恐山菩提寺
本尊：延命地蔵菩薩
開基：慈覚大師円仁
本坊：曹洞宗圓通寺
開山期間：毎年５月１日～１０月末日
Osorezan is known in English as the Mountain of Dread or Gateway to Hell.
People who live in the region have developed the belief that everyone will go to Osorezan after death...