Asama-yama: 浅間山

The Pacific Ring of Fire has always been fascinating to me. As a chubby elementary school student, I went to the IMAX theater in the science museum in Minnesota. With my head at full-tilt, I gawked as volcanoes were explored and (read the following with a Dr. Evil voice) liquid-hot magma spewed down moon-like mountainsides. It stuck with me. From that day on I vowed to be a vulcanologist and explore the innards of some of the most active volcanoes in the world. Sadly, that changed when I discovered sports and dreamed of being a professional athlete. It wasn't until last weekend that I got my second helping of volcanoes. My appetite for them has grown. I am satiated by their potential and unpredictability--much like that day-old, half-priced danish sitting at the bakery down the street.


Asama-yama is an active volcano located on the border between Gunma and Nagano. It is known as the ugly twin sister of Mount Fuji, which often causes Asama to get jealous and retaliate by throwing explosive tantrums. Its last eruption was in 2004. It is considered the most active volcano on the main island of Honshu.


My friend, Daniel, and I headed out at 4:30 am to tackle Asama. It was an absolutely beautiful day...one of those days where the temperature feels like you are in a cave--cool and crisp. The fog was thick in the morning but soon got burned off by the sun. Everything seemed to be going our way, that is, up until the volcano erupted and we had to hide behind a gigantic boulder until the lava flows stopped three days later, all the while playing dodgeball with fiery earth-born meteors of decapitation and death and feeling like God was spreading the ashes of the entire cremated population of a medium-sized country.

[That part was just for practicing creative writing and to see if you were paying attention. Also, I want to see if my mom can appreciate my sense of humor. I love you mom.]


The hike was everything you could hope for: beautiful forests, great weather, wildlife, serene mountain streams, panoramic views, and the pay-off at the end. The first half of the ascent was in a beautiful valley before going up the conical peak of the volcano proper. The trail was surrounded by lush vegetation and streaming with spider webs. For this reason, I let Daniel lead. Eventually, we made it to a semi-open area where we saw our first kamoshika (basically a deer/goat mix) and a natural spring. A couple hundred meters later, we ran into the ranger station and "volcano shelter." We went inside and talked with the ranger. From there to the top it was basically the rocky, Fuji-like portion of the hike, equipped with millions of rocks that will make your ankles cry and feet bleed. After what seemed like several nautical miles of climbing straight up, we made it! HALLELUJAH!

That first breath of cool, crisp, noxious, sulphur dioxide air said it all: we made it. It may have been the altitude, or the noxious gas, or even the beer we drank at the top...all's I know is that being up there was exhilarating and euphoric. We needed to celebrate, so we did what any person would do, we threw boulders into the fuming caldera below and listened patiently.