*山形藏王賞樹冰 Rime on trees, at Zao, Yamagata

Feb 2008

After a 40-minute bus ride from Yamagata train station, I arrived at the bus terminal of Zao Onsen (Zao hot spring). From here you can take the ropeway up into the mountains. The lift took me to the highest point (1661m), but it was too cold to enjoy the scenery. Even the Buddha statue was 75% buried in the snow. All I could do was to take a photo and then hide into the warm space inside the station. Since it's so cold up here, I decided to take the lift down to the previous stop (Juhyo Kogen) and it's somewhat warm enough to walk around. Unlike me, most people come here to ski, even small kids came skiing here in groups. Though it's the coldest place I've ever been to, I enjoyed the experience.

How to get there:

Take the bus from Yamagata station to Zao onsen

Timetable http://www.yamakobus.co.jp/jikokuhyou/ya-za.html

Ropeway http://www.zao-spa.or.jp/english/index.html

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*Sun Yat-Sen and Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall

Honored as the father of modern China, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen led the revolution against the last imperil dynasty of China. As a doctor-thinker-diplomat, he is widely revered among people from both China and Taiwan.

When he died in 1925, The newly established Republic of China was still divided and most parts of the mainland were controlled by war loads and western powers. This was the time when Chiang Kai-Shek moved up the ladder by unifying the country in 1928.

Chiang's career reached the acme during WWII. In 1949, Chiang's party lost the civil war and fled to Taiwan. His authoritative governing of Taiwan made him a controversial figure in Taiwan history.

Nowadays, their memorials are more like tourist attractions than political symbols. The hourly change of guards is something special and you don't want to miss it.