Eerie. Sulfuric. Hissing. A few of the words used in a travel guide that were more intriguing than those of a typical Japanese destination so we headed north to Japans Aomori prefecture to witness these curious adjectives first hand.
Once in the town 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. A glance at the only other foreigner on the bus gave us a moment of comfort.
The bus made an unannounced, (or perhaps announced - we couldn't understand) roadside stop at a mountain spring. The locals got out of the bus to fill waiting cups with cool water. Willing to try anything we also drank. As the bus continued to the top of the mountain it all seemed normal, but then the breeze picked up and you could hear a faint squeaking noise. We walked onto the 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 rocks.
A few 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.
Going back for a second pass, there was still lots to see and many photos to take. Then the light turned to magic hour. Perfect! Unfortunately it was time to catch the final bus to Mutsu which was idling in the parking lot 500 meters away. Grabbing our cameras and making a run for it we both saw the same "must have" photo. 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 shot of the day.
See more of Mt. Osorezan on our Red Dot Podcast on YouTube, www.youtube.com/user/studioreddot, our website - www.studioreddot.com, or iTunes. We hope you like them and we'd love to hear your feedback.
Alicia Wszelaki, Matthew Nothelfer