Mount Bandai [磐梯山]
Mount Bandai in spring
Mount Bandai from Ura-Bandai area
Mount Bandai ("Bandaisan" in Japanese) is an active volcano located nearly center of Fukushima Prefecture.
Lake Inawashiro is 8 km south of it, and scenic Ura-Bandai area spread to the north.
From these areas, we can surely see this mountain.
Mount Bandai has three peaks.
The highest peak is 1,816 meters high, and the others are 1,636 meters and 1,430 meters high.
When we see this mountain from the foot, we find that it has a huge hollow between the peaks.
Originally, Mount Bandai was a smart mountain like Mount Fuji.
It is said that the mountain was over 2,000 meters high.
But when the great eruption occured in 806, the top part of the mountain collapsed on an enormous scale.
At this time, four peaks were formed.
Then a great eruption occured in 1888 again.
One of the peaks was blown off completely, massive earth and rocks flew down to the northern foot.
The earth and rocks destroyed some villages and they blocked many rivers.
As a result, many lakes were formed around Ura-bandai area.
There are six routes to climb, and it takes 3 or 4 hours to the top.
Surrounding sightseeing spots are the following pages.
