Azuma-Kofuji and Jōdo-daira

photo by Σ64 · CC BY 3.0

photo by alonfloc · CC BY 3.0

In spring a snow rabbit appears on the volcano: it is the signal to sow rice.

The real name of the mountain is Suribachi-yama, but its bowl-shaped crater, seen from Fukushima, looks like a miniature Fuji, hence ‘little Fuji of Azuma’: every spring, as it melts, the remaining snow draws the outline of a rabbit on its flank (the ‘yuki-usagi’, the snow rabbit), which in farming tradition marked the start of rice sowing. The starting point for the short climb to the crater is Jōdo-daira, at 1,600 m, which is also the heart of the Bandai-Azuma Skyline: 28.7 km of free scenic road between Takayu Onsen and the Tsuchiyu Pass, open from late April to mid-November.

An active volcano of 1,707 m in the Azuma group, in the municipality of Fukushima; the access point, Jōdo-daira, is also the central stop on the Bandai-Azuma Skyline scenic road.

ℹ️ The Skyline is open to traffic from late April to mid-November, free of charge; car park at Jōdo-daira 500 yen for cars, 200 yen for motorbikes. The trail to the Azuma-Kofuji crater is short (about 1 km) from the Jōdo-daira visitor centre.

Sources: tabi-mag.jp · f-kankou.jp · ja.wikipedia.org

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