Mt. Zao – Susan Spann, Adventure, Mystery, and Mountains

Visiting the Famous Snow Monsters of Mt. Zao

Susan Spann Blog, Travel & Tourism March 22, 2023March 22, 2023Japan, Juhyo, Mt. Zao, snow monsters, snow monsters of Mt. Zao, winter, Zao onsen

Last month, I rode the shinkansen three and a half hours north from Tokyo to Yamagata Prefecture, where I hopped a bus to Zao Onsen, a hot spring resort that’s home to one of the Nihon Hyakumeizan (100 Famous Mountains of Japan) and a winter wonderland famous for volcanic hot spring baths, excellent skiing, and a unique natural phenomenon called “snow monsters.”

Chapter 9: No Raisins on the Summit

Susan Spann 1000 Summits, Blog, CLIMB Photo Companion August 23, 2020August 29, 2020100 Summits, Climb, hiking in Japan, hyakumeizan, Mt. Zao, Zao, Zaosan

All shinkansen (bullet trains) are not created equal. Some stop more often than others do, and some travel at (slightly) faster speeds. The fastest, known as the hayabusa (peregrine falcon) travels at up to 300kph (200 mph) runs mostly in the Tōhōku region, north of Tokyo.