Tsutanuma

The largest of six swamps on the Tsuta trail in Aomori, stretching one kilometer in circumference. The swamps formed thousands of years ago when the slope of nearby Mount Akakura collapsed in a debris avalanche, blocking the valley and transforming the landscape. Scientists describe the mountain's geology as paperweight-on-tofu: hard, brittle rock sitting atop a fragile base that can shear apart rapidly. The resulting swamp is calm and reflective now, surrounded by beech and oak forest that turns vivid gold in autumn, with Mount Akakura still visible to the left as you walk the shore.