It is summer time! Flowers in full bloom in Japan’s largest marshland, let’s visit the treasure of nature “Oze National Park”.
Oze National Park (尾瀬国立公園)
Situated in the center of Japan, Oze is the largest highland marshland on Japan’s main island of Honshu. Spanning Gunma, Fukushima, Niigata and Tochigi prefectures, it is home to the Ozegahara Marsh, Lake Ozenuma and the surrounding 2,000-m-class mountains, including Mt. Shibutsu and Mt. Hiuchigatake. Here, visitors can enjoy varied, beautiful natural landscapes, including vast marshlands, lakes, alpine areas, pristine forests and high waterfalls.
Ozegahara (尾瀨之原）
Oze is Japan’s largest highland marsh, and is famous as an area rich in rare and precious plants and animals. Located in Oze National Park, the marsh is said to have been formed in the Ice Age about 10,000 years ago. Because of the special geographical conditions of the highland basin, plants that evolved in the Ice Age are still growing naturally now. The beautiful scenery is especially enjoyable when the marsh is covered with blooming skunk cabbage in spring and day lilies in summer.
Normally, Oze is open between mid-May and late October. A large number of people come to the area during this season. Best time visit there is the end of April to November.
The most convenient way is from the town of Gunma Prefecture (は と ま ち と う げ). The top of the mountain is 1,400 meters. There are restaurants, stores and toilets. You can buy guided books, hats, ice cream and beer. The famous dish of the restaurant is tuna.
Sound of Birds and Fragrance of Flowers
This is the height of Oze’s floral season. When the lingering snow is almost gone, the skunk cabbage season starts in Oze, attracting large numbers of visitors. The white flowers confidently herald the start of Oze’s short open season, and yellow marsh marigolds also open their yellow flowers in support.
After the white fluff of cotton sedges, the marshes become carpeted with the yellow flowers of daylilies.Visitors are usually delighted with summer in Oze.
Oze Natural Park Access Info:
Location：Tokura, Katashina-mura, Tone-gun, Gunma
Tel：+81-278-58-3222 （Katashina Village Tourism Association）
▼Access
[To Tokura]
・About 1 hour 40 minutes by bus from Numata Station on JR Joetsu Line
・About 1 hour by car from Numata IC of Kan-Etsu Expressway and park at Tokura Parking Lot
About 25 minutes by bus from Tokura to Hatomachi Touge and about 1 hour 30 minutes on foot from Hatomachi Touge to Ozegahara (varies by person)
Oze Natural Park official website
Photo and Source: Daily News
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