Azalea Fields

In late June, around 600,000 Japanese azalea plants on the slopes east of Mount Yunomaru turn a vivid scarlet. Designated a Natural Monument in 1956, the fields owe their density to centuries of livestock grazing: cattle and horses consumed competing vegetation but left the azaleas, which are toxic to them. A local legend offers a different explanation, saying the blossoms grew from the blood of two young lovers from rival villages who leapt from Jizo Peak rather than be separated. The site sits at high altitude and features color variation unusual for such a concentrated planting.