Zao Onsen: Tasty Ramen, Ancient Ryokan, and Monsters Made of Snow

 -- Susan, every other Sunday

Last weekend, my friend (fellow author Jonelle Patrick) and I hopped a train to Yamagata Prefecture, three hours north of Tokyo, in the hope of seeing the famous "snow monsters" of Mt. Zao--a forest of heavily corniced trees created by freezing winds blowing down from Siberia and across the sea to Japan.

The monsters only exist for a few weeks each year, and between the screaming winds and winter storms (which sometimes shut down the gondolas you ride to the top, where the monsters are) it isn't always possible to see them, even if you make the trip.

The entrance to Takamiya Ryokan Miyamaso

Although the forecast looked promising when we booked the trip, Jonelle and I arrived at our traditional inn--Takamiya Ryokan Miyamaso--in the midst of a freezing rainstorm that had shut the gondolas down for the day, and it looked as if we weren't going to see them at all this trip.

We were both pretty bummed, but Miyamaso turned out to be an excellent "consolation prize." The inn has been in operation since 1716, and its hot spring baths are fed by a volcanic spring that comes up underneath the inn itself.

The volcanic hot spring that feeds the baths at Miyamaso

Our room was really three rooms, including a main room, a Japanese-style sitting room, and a funky step-down "lounge" with post-war couches--along with a separate en-suite toilet and bath, an entry hall, and a changing room.    

It was so large, we looked at one another and asked "how many people do they think we brought with us??"

The private sitting room (one of two)

Since the snow monsters were "no monsters" for the day, we wandered back through the little town (which was established during the second century (around 110)) and renovated after Zao Onsen became a popular retreat and resort during the 1950s, had excellent ramen at a local restaurant, and shot some pictures of the steaming hot spring rivers that run through town.

We also stopped in a local sake shop and bought a bottle of umeshu (Japanese plum liquor), which we brought back to the room and mixed with hot water for a delightful cocktail, before heading to try out the famous hot spring baths.

Umeshu - a great way to warm up on a chilly day.

The town was covered in snow (the freezing rain didn't make a dent in the snowbanks).  Steaming rivers run through Zao Onsen, fed by the many volcanic springs for which the town is famous. 

Steaming hot-spring river

Dinner was a many-coursed feast, accompanied by a tasting flight of local sake.

Local Yamagata Sake - every one, delicious!

The first of many beautiful and tasty courses

That night, the rain turned to snow, and we woke to a fresh, clean blanket of beautiful white, with more flakes falling all around. The innkeeper said the gondolas still weren't running, so we left our heavy gear at the inn and walked through town to take a few last photos before departing.  

Except, when we reached the gondola, we learned it WAS running after all! We didn't want to risk returning to the inn for our gear, so we stood in line in our standard winter outerwear--a two hour wait, outside, in the snow--and rode the gondolas up the snowy slopes to the summit, where we faced -15 temperatures (below -25 with wind chill) . . . and saw the monsters, after all.

The frosty beech-covered slopes of Mt. Zao

Snow monsters! At last!

A fabulous end to an already amazing winter trip - and another item checked off my (admittedly, pages long) "must-do" list for Japan.