Zao

Zao Quasi-National Park covers approximately 39,736 hectares across the Zao mountain range, straddling the border of Yamagata and Miyagi Prefectures in the Tohoku region of northern Honshu. The park is centered on the Zao volcanic group, a cluster of stratovolcanoes whose highest point, Kumano-dake, reaches 1,841 meters. The park is best known for two extraordinary natural phenomena: the Okama crater lake, a vivid emerald-green caldera lake, and the juhyo, or snow monsters, trees encased in ice and snow into fantastical sculptural forms during winter. These two features have made Zao one of Japan's most distinctive and recognizable natural landscapes. The park encompasses subalpine vegetation, hot spring resorts, alpine wetlands, and both Yamagata and Miyagi Prefecture ski areas. Zao Onsen, on the Yamagata side, is one of the most historically significant hot spring resort towns in Tohoku.