An Ode to Aso-san

When I think back on my three years in Kumamoto, Japan, I often think of the immense natural beauty that surrounded me in central Kyushu. There were the many waterfalls, some heavily photographed and others rarely glimpsed. The amazing rice fields that turned a surreal shade of green two times a year. The amazing sunsets over Kumamoto as the sun dipped over Kinpo-san and behind Unzen-dake. Then of course, there is Mt. Aso. This sacred peak has long been viewed within Japan as a mystical place of beauty, natural power and sometimes danger. I was lucky enough to live within an interesting hour drive from the active crater.

I will never forget the night that I was told that Aso's height 1,592 meters, spoken in an alternate way of saying numbers, is Higo Kuni. Higo is the ancient name of Kumamoto and the Japanese for country, kuni. Wow, what an interesting coincidence.

I went to Aso many times. As a stop and think, a dozen different stories come to mind of fun-filled days and crazy nights spent in the caldera.

...leading a group through the woods and through a barbed wire fence into the annual Aso rave in order to circumvent the $30 entrance fee...partying all night to bad music under a big sky...on the drive back at sunrise the next morning and still feeling intoxicated, accidentally losing a banana out the window as we slowly took in the curves of the mountain road...several hashes in Aso, led by The Immortal Lettuce or Sliced Bush...venturing to the very top of Aso or Nekodake, taking in the ominous pale green pool of the smoking crater and the noxious fumes of sulfur...hitting up the delicious izakayas in Jamie's town, oh the chicken wing gyoza...

...a leisurely drive along the Milk Road, skirting the very edge of the caldera, looking down into the largest volcano-crated bowl in the world...a never-ending hash that had us running through pastures following dots on cattle...grabbing a bento and heading out to hike up Nekodake...swinging flaming bales of straw and the Aso Fire Festival...seeing said flaming bale slam into the chest of one who stood too close...discovering a forgotten road, from North Aso to Takamori between Aso and Nekodake peaks...on the clearest of days, being able to see smoke rising from the volcano from my porch in Kumamoto City...

There is no doubt that I will return to Kumamoto again. I hope to once again drive to Mt. Aso, climb to its peak and take it all in. I can't imagine things will change too drastically if I go there next year or 50 years from now. I take great comfort in that.