Mt. Aso (Kumamoto-prefecture, Japan)

[Mark Itol]

Hello guys. I was out yesterday with a Japanese friend to climb Mt. Aso, Japan's largest active volcano.

I'm not really a wide-angle shooter, but the beautiful view made me want a wide-angle lens (UWAaaaaa! UWAaaaa! ). Here are some of the shots, and I hope I did justice to the beauty of the landscape.

The trail from the starting point at the foothill to the observatory (taken from above)


One of the two cable cars (which they call as "rope cars") that transports passengers to the observatory. We decided not to take a ride and hike all the way up.


Matsuyama-san takes a landscape shot from one of our pauses


Picture of me

[Mark Itol]

As I don't have a polarizing filter, I tried simulating the effect in Photoshop from a guide a found on the web

Image before applying the polarizer effect


Image after applying the polarizer effect


The paved trail to the crater viewing area (makes hiking easier . The building on the far left is the "observatory," where the cable cars transport passengers to.


Another shot of the paved trail. The rock-like structure at the center (along the trail) serves as a shed and resting place.

[Mark Itol]

View of the crater from the viewing area. The bottom of the crater is not visible from here, though. On the upper left is a helicopter that offers tourists a ride for a bird's-eye view of the crater (5000 yen for 4 minutes according to Wikitravel). The smoke from the crater has a foul smell and made us coughing after we inhaled some (dangerous).


Another shot of the crater from the viewing area.


The trail to Taka-dake (dake means peak), the highest summit (at 1592m above sea level) of the five of the mountains consisting Aso. There is a warning at the starting point of the trail that climbers must have sufficient gear. We didn't have sufficient gear, but decided to go and climb.


A dead-end sign we came across somewhere along the trail to the peak

[Mark Itol]

Here are some shots taken from Naka-dake, one of the five peaks. This was the highest point we were able to climb since the trail to the Taka peak was steep and we didn't have proper gear.



Naka-dake. On the foreground are two other climbers. The signpost reads Naka-dake 1506m.


Shots of the caldera



A telephoto shot of the caldera


A group of climbers heading to Naka-dake


One of the climbers starting the decent. The caldera can be seen on the background.

[Mark Itol]

Shots of the trail go back to the viewing area





Thank you for taking time to view.

[Ralf Nabong]

Awesome landscape shots.

[Mark Itol]

Thanks, Sir Bong.

[Neon Rosell II]

Thanks Mark!! for sharing these wonderful shots of a place that I don't know I'll be able to see personally!! And now I can also put a face to your name.

[Romy Ocon]

A very unique looking place nicely captured, Mark!

[Mark Itol]

Thanks for viewing guys. I was actually thinking of getting bird shots, but to my dismay, I saw not a single bird. Hopefully on the next mountain we will climb I'd be able to take bird photos.