Oze Area (Gumma)尾瀬エリア
Gumma群馬県
Japan's largest high moor. The highland plateau is covered with numerous small ponds, crowds of creeping pine trees, and virgin forests of beech trees.
Cradling the boundaries of the four prefectures of Gunma, Niigata, Tochigi, and Fukushima, Oze is the generic name for the area consists mainly of Oze-ga-hara, Oze-numa, surrounded by nearby mountains such as Mt. Hiuchi-ga-take, Mt. Keizuru-yama, and Mt. Shibutsu-san. It is located at the center of Oze National Park.
Oze, set on a plateau 1,400-1,700 meters above sea level, is the largest high moor in Japan; it was created by the lava from Mt. Hiuchi-ga-take, which dammed up the Tadami-gawa River. Numerous small ponds can be seen here and there; rare bog plants such as 'mizubasho' (Japanese skunk cabbage) and 'Nikko-kisuge' (yellow alpine lily) grow in patches; and floating islands of peat layers are visible. Creeping pines growing in stands and virgin forests of beech trees stretch to the nearby mountains. All these areas were designated as a special natural monument of Japan in 1960, and inscribed as registered wetlands under the Ramsar Convention of 2005.
In the colonies of bog plants, trails of logs and wooden planks are laid out as hiking tracks, and mountain huts are available. Lots of travelers flock to the area, especially when the blossoms of 'mizubasho' are at their best in early summer and when the leaves turn red in autumn. Spectacular scenic spots such as the grand Sanjo-no-taki Falls can be seen on the upper stream of the Kita-Tadami-gawa River, whose source is Oze.
Directions
From Tokyo :
[Rail] 1h 20 min to Jomo-Kogen Station by JR Jo'etsu Shinkansen Line, and 2h 10 min from the station to O-shimizu by bus.
From Osaka :
[Rail] 2h 30 min from Shin-Osaka to Tokyo Station by JR Tokaido Shinkansen Line.
