“Hiking in ‘Nature’ on Mt Aso” by Tan Li Yun Evelyn 

Mt Aso is an active volcano located in Aso, Kumamoto Prefecture, at the center of the world’s largest caldera. In this image, it may not appear that we are hiking up the steep incline of a mountain, but going on a leisurely walk. Paved paths for pedestrians on the right co-exist with roads for vehicles on the left, making the crater accessible for large numbers of tourist. Despite the sunny weather, the landscape and climate can be harsh at Mt Aso, which we discovered the hard way.

I took this photo while lagging behind the others, due to the steep incline and the nearly unbreathable air. I started coughing the moment I stepped outside the souvenir shop. Signs there informed tourists that the giant, steaming crater was inaccessible due to the high concentration of sulphur dioxide in the air. However, the path to the volcano was still open to tourists.

We tried our luck at catching a glimpse of the crater, walking through “nature” that is not endless fields of flowers dotting green grass. The scenery slowly changed from green to grey. There were rocks everywhere; no sign of life except us troopers and the occasional car zooming by. The landscape was boring – how was this “nature tourism” if there are no plants, no colours? My image of nature as forests and flowers lining footpaths, with sunlight peeking through the canopy, simply did not belong on this volcano.

A few minutes after taking this picture “nature” again tested us as the concentration of sulphur dioxide became too high and we were forced to evacuate the mountaintop. Far from a boring landscape, Mt Aso provided a thrilling adventure where I had to use all my senses to detect danger. In retrospect, it was not as boring as I thought, and I started to appreciate the volcano and nature as more than simply “beautiful scenery.”