Lake Oguni-numa

Oguni-numa is a pond and wetland at an elevation of 1,090 m, spreading across the north side of Urabandai in Kitashiobara Village, Fukushima. It lies within Bandai-Asahi National Park, and the raised bog that has developed around the pond is designated a National Natural Monument as the Oguni-numa Wetland Plant Community. From late June to early July, the Nikko daylilies reach their peak in the wetland on the south side, and the yellow flowers cover the marsh.

The pond's origin lies in volcanic history. The old Nekoma Volcano suffered a flank collapse about 500,000 years ago, forming an explosion caldera. Later volcanic activity created Mount Nekoma-ga-take, and water collected in the resulting hollow to form the pond. It was once thought to be a caldera lake, but this explanation is now considered more likely. It is also counted as a geosite of the Bandai-san Geopark. In the early Edo period, irrigation work carried out by Oshio Heizaemon enlarged its area, and the old pond was only about half its present size.

The beech forest on the outer rim is also called the "forest dam" and helps to nourish the water source. In early summer, Renge azaleas bloom from the wetland across the slopes of Mount Oguni. In recent years more people have been visiting in winter for backcountry skiing and snowshoeing.

Your route changes a great deal depending on where you start. The easiest is from Kanazawa Pass, where the observation deck beside the parking lot gives a full view of the pond, the boardwalk entrance of the wetland is about a 10-minute walk, and a loop of the boardwalk takes about 20 minutes. Other courses include the Oguni Seseragi trail from the Oyasawa parking lot, about 2 hours through broadleaf forest; the Oguni Panorama trail from Lavispa Urabandai via Mount Oguni, about 3 hours 10 minutes; and the Nekoma-dake Yamabiko trail from the Happodai trailhead via Mount Nekoma-ga-take and Neko-ishi, about 3 hours 20 minutes. On the north side of the pond stands an unstaffed refuge hut, the Oguni-numa Kyukeisho.

During the daylily season, Kanazawa Pass was once jammed with traffic on holidays, and trampling outside the walking paths damaged the vegetation, while human waste and litter became problems. For this reason, since fiscal 2005 general vehicles have been restricted on the forest road leading to Kanazawa Pass from early June to mid-July in a normal year, and a substitute bus has been run. Shuttle buses and road closures change from year to year, so check the latest information before you go.

By car, it is about 20 km from Banetsu-Kato IC on the Banetsu Expressway and about 23 km from Aizu-Wakamatsu IC, and the parking lot at Kanazawa Pass is free with space for 20 cars. Mount Bandai (about 6.5 km), the Goshikinuma Lakes (about 7 km) and the Aizu Domain School Nisshinkan (about 9 km) are nearby, so you can combine the nature of Urabandai with the history of Aizu in one trip.