Jaws...The Crater!

Yesterday, my friend and I drove along the Bandai-Azuma Skyline, the road that runs across the sky, in hopes of witnessing some lovely leaves. I'd say, Mission Accomplished.

Before we go any further, be forewarned that what follows are several photos of beautiful scenery. If that isn't your cup of brew, scroll down to the end and you'll view some Halloween content. I wasn't sure we'd see anything Halloweeny, but fortunately we did near the end of the day. 

This bridge is truly a marvel of engineering.

Two deliberate shots with glare from the sun.

All in all, very picturesque though the foliage was not as colourful as I'd hoped it'd be.

Next on the agenda was a volcanic crater, Azuma-Kofuji, a sub-alpine hiking adventure. It was early afternoon and overcast when we started at the bottom of the trek. It had started sprinkling and the wind was furious as we made it about 3/4s to the top. My lungs were holding up yet my ears were chilled so we opted not to climb any further.

We climbed all that way just to see a big pit.

(I scammed the pic above and below from my pal.)

This photo is scammed from my friend showing the braver souls than ourselves who continued the journey along the peak.

Here are 8 seconds showing a panorama of the landscape...VERY windy! 

SH*T, I can't figure out how to embed it, unlike every other video from YouTube. Hopefully you can access it here. here?

(Hang on, the damn link isn't working.)

So we go to the Visitor's Center (Jododaira Rest House) and there is this large picture of wtf is that?!? With a freaking shark in the sky.

I'd bought a smoked egg and a set of postcards* and decided to ask about the shark. 

(*I'll showcase the postcards at the end of this entry.) The guy tells me that the Jo in Jododaira (ジョーズ Jaws ジョドJodo...) is for Jaws. "It's a joke!", he proclaimed in his broken English. Not a particularly good joke but it made me chuckle at the time.

From there, we moved along to Lake Inawashiro, hoping to catch the tail-end of a sunset. 

Ducks!

A Turtle cruise!

A Swan cruise!

Swan paddle boats.

From there we wandered towards Koriyama and I caught the sun setting and a big Buddha (Not actually Buddha.)

Now what you've all been waiting for...Halloween content! The Mansaido (otaku-shop) in Koriyama had a Halloween display, and they went all out.

From a giant 7-foot tall skeletal spectre to 

several swinging spectres dangling from the ceiling.

 

Throw in a spider looming on passersby and you've got a pretty good spooky display.

At the entrance lobby there's a ghoul greeter. 

I decided to take a load off.

Apart from a few Spidey goods, I didn't buy much, though the Halloween display made the trip worthwhile. I did pick up another Aka-beko, this one sporting a deer on its back.

Here's a far superior Halloween blog to whet your whistle, Zombie Crossings!

As promised, here are the postcards featuring the top Nature sites of Fukushima.

Finally, just to finish this off, here are the undergarments I wore that day. Say it three times...