The low budget journey to Osorezan

Location: Osorezan

Nearest Station: Shimokita

Its hard to imagine how fast time moves by, since from the time I'm writing, 13 years have already passed. It was the late summer of 2012, and I was a broke University student eager for adventure, but had been too tight on money to venture anywhere outside of the Kanto region. I had been discussing with an American friend of mine Stephen about some unique sights in Japan. Somehow we stumbled upon a very unique sacred place in Northern Aomori called Osorezan (Terror/Fear Mountain), said to be the location of the entrance to the afterlife. Such an intriguing spiritual place of such cultural significance made it a very alluring travel destination, however, the distance made it a very expensive trip.

As tight on money as we were, the two of us were very determined youngsters, and found a way to work around these extreme financial restraints. We purchased a "youth train pass", which allowed 5 days of unlimited travel on any Japan Rail train. This was long before there were any useful apps for train schedules, so we carefully researched every single transfer. I stayed at his house the night before, and we quickly jumped on the first train. It took us at least 10 transfers and the whole day to reach Shimokita, the nearest station to Osorezan. It was an interesting odyssey travelling through the beautiful countryside of Japan's Tokohoku provinces. Along the way, we passed through Sendai station and also ate some vending machine takoyaki (battered octopus balls).

By about 6pm, we arrived at the nearest train stop, far out in the Aomori countryside. The two of us were really hungry by this point, and thankfully there was a nearby Sukiya which we could grab a bowl of gyudon (rice and beef). After a quick bite, the two of us hiked along road 174 until we found a spot off the beaten trail to set up a tent for some off-the-grid camping (since we didn't have any money, even for a super cheap hotel or official campground). We got up fairly early the next morning. It was a little warm and humid, but the day was also overcast, and the closer we got to Osorezan, the more foggy the roads became, which really added to the atmosphere. We passed by some old houses, including one with some Doraimon kids statues outside, which was real creepy stuff.

As we continued along the road, the two of us were overpowered by the smell of sulfur, so we knew we were close to the entrance of Osorezan. As we entered the sacred area, there was a small bridge with two statues guarding it. Afterwards we reached the entrance, featuring giant Buddha statues. The two of us travelled around the area, visiting the many sulphur vents that symbolized the 100 entrances to the other world. Around each of these vents was a small Buddha statue, and despite the adorable image of some of them, I believe they were placed to stop the evil spirits from exiting the gate. Lastly, I sat by lake Usori - a deceptively beautiful small lake that fills the centre of the Osorezan caldera. Fuelled by the volcanic gases underground, this lake may look at first glance like a pristine spot for a refreshing dip, it is actually highly acidic. (After doing some research I discovered the water in the lake has a PH level of 3.3 - far below the 7.0~7.6 PH safe zone for humans) We ended our adventure by sampling the yomogi (grass) flavoured ice cream, which definitely did not agree with my taste buds, but since most of our senses were overpowered by the sulfur, it was still a refreshment. Then we took a bus back and camped out again just outside Shimokita station.

The next day was another long journey back to Tokyo following all the local trains. An notable memory of interest was that the train line was delayed while travelling down through Fukushima prefecture due to a heavy thunderstorm. As we were waiting in the train, Stephen was complimented on his Japanese by an elderly woman as he said "sono kaminari wa sugoi" (that thunder is incredible), after a loud bang. The lady then gave him one of the stocks of corn she had been carrying as a friendly gesture.