Tohoku 2015 東北の旅 - Jubuichiyama 十分一山, Takatsumujiyama 高ツムジ山, Unkai 雲海

Visited 14.10.2015 (Wed)



Dreamy. I am a fan of NHK’s travel documentary series “Train Cruise” which promotes railway travel in Japan. In one of its episodes titled "Autumn Delights in Tohoku and Shin-Etsu", Toreiyu Tsubasa とれいゆ つばさ, the foot bath equipped Shinkansen which commutes along Yamagata Shinkansen line 山形新幹線, and Akayu Onsen 赤湯温泉 in Nanyo city 南陽市 were featured. What attracted me the most from this particular episode was this spectacular scenery of a sea of clouds (otherwise known as unkai 雲海) that the host witnessed from a mountain in the early morning. How magical was that! Started to do some online research to locate where this particular place was in Nanyo city and found out that Takinami 瀧波, a ryokan in Akayu Onsen, actually offered guided tour for its guests to this same unkai viewing spot in the early morning. For my trip to Tohoku region in Oct 2015, I reserved a night stay in Takinami and signed up for the unkai tour hoping I could come up close to this dreamy scenery in person.

Not the day. Woke up way earlier than usual and gathered at the lobby before 0600 hrs. To our dismay, Suto san 須藤さん, the owner of Takinami (who was also the tour guide), informed us that the sighting of unkai was not possible today due to weather conditions. However, he promised that it was still worthwhile to make the trip up the mountain to capture a panoramic view of Okitama basin 置賜盆地 and the surrounding mountain ranges. So we proceeded with the original plan and set off on a mini van to ascend Jubuichiyama 十分一山 (482 m) and Takatsumujiyama 高ツムジ山 (693 m), where unkai supposedly could be seen from above. The best period to witness this breathtaking scene is actually during the autumn season (in October). Seen from an elevation, the lowland area appears to be covered by a thick, milky white fog and this phenomenon is known as unkai (sea of clouds). Radiation cooling results in a fall of temperature at night and water vapour in the cold, saturated air condenses to produce the clouds.

Phenomenal. Reached the observatory point at Jubuchiyama and we were totally captivated by the spectacular view unveiled right in front of our eyes! Though we were not able to witness the natural phenomenon, the absence of the sea of clouds in turn allowed us to clearly make out the well defined patchwork of agricultural fields, the settlements of Nanyo city and its surrounding mountainous ranges. In my opinion, this scenery was equally phenomenal and breathtaking. At the next higher observatory point, we caught sight of a runway platform which we found out later from Suto san that this was used as the take off point for hand gliding and paragliding. For us, the elevated platform enabled us to admire the picturesque scenery (and to take photos) from another perspective.

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Jubuichiyama 十分一山, Takatsumujiyama 高ツムジ山

http://yamagatayama.com/?p=3430

Other links:

- Unkai tour by Takinami (in Japanese): http://takinami.co.jp/山形座-瀧波の山遊び「雲海」/

- Hand gliding and paragliding at Jubuichiyama and Takatsumujiyama (in Japanese): http://yamagatakanko.com/log/?l=288470

How to get there?
(1) By car. 20 mins by car from Akayu JR Station 赤湯駅.

Video: Take a look at NHK's Train Cruise documentary featuring Unkai viewing from Jubuichiyama and Takatsumujiyama.