Driving Up to the Crater Plain on Mt. Esan From foothill azaleas to rocky peaks rising up close

I came to Mt. Esan in spring for the azaleas blooming along the foothills. In late May, I stopped again and again to admire the sweep of flowers, amazed that such a vivid stretch could be waiting below the mountain. Then I turned onto the Esan Hiking Road. Keeping my eyes on the road and both hands on the wheel, I climbed slowly to the car park at the crater plain.

When I parked and looked up, a huge rocky slope was looming right over me. It felt nothing like the mountainside where I'd just been admiring the flowers. Deep grooves ran down the rock, and sharp points jutted into the sky here and there. I'd barely made it to the car park, yet it felt as if I'd met another side of the same mountain. My hand paused on the door handle.

I stood beside my red convertible with both hands tucked into my jacket pockets. The evening breeze brushed my cheeks, and the lingering excitement of the drive slowly subsided. The paved area around me was broad, but the rocky peaks beyond it made everything else seem small. I followed the deep grooves with my eyes, wondering how far this one mass of rock stretched, until my head was tipped back and stayed there.

I heard that the name Esan comes from the Ainu word “Iesan,” meaning “fire erupts and lava flows down.” I'd come expecting a mountain of flowers, so the name surprised me. But looking at the rocks right in front of me, I could sense more clearly than before just how long this mountain had been active. With my hands still in my pockets, I stared into the cracks in the rock.

Thinking of the azaleas on the lower slopes, I looked up at the rocky peak once more. The flowers and these rocks were all part of the same Mt. Esan. If I'd taken pictures of the flowers and headed straight home, I would never have seen this contrast. Evening light fell across the slope, leaving shadows in the deepest grooves. “Beautiful” didn't quite cover it; more than anything, I just wanted to keep looking.

Natowa Esan Roadside Station by the sea is also known for kombu soft serve. As I imagined a day that took in both the mountain and the sea, with a little treat like that along the way, my shoulders finally relaxed. Today, I'd take the memory of those rocks home with me. I looked up one last time before getting back in the car, then kept my eyes on the road as I headed down, replaying the azalea-covered slope in my mind.