Qualla: Mount Kurikoma

Mount Kurikoma: Introduction

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY 2.0. The locals call it the Carpet of the Gods. Every October, the slopes of Mount Kurikoma ignite in reds, oranges, and golds so saturated they look artificial, the autumn foliage rolling from the 1,627-meter summit down to the mountain's base over the course of a month. Hikers come from across Japan for it. But Kurikoma is not a gentle mountain. Beneath the seasonal beauty sits an active stratovolcano with a breached summit caldera, a crater lake choked with toxic gas, and flanks scarred by thousands of landslides triggered by one of the most powerful earthquakes to strike the Tohoku interior in modern history. The mountain straddles three prefectures -- Iwate, Miyagi, and Akita -- and it has shaped all three with both its beauty and its violence.

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Image: Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan | CC BY 2.0

Mount Kurikoma: Built on Borrowed Height

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Batholith, Public domain. Mount Kurikoma's 1,627 meters are deceptive. The volcano's composition is mostly andesitic to dacitic rock that formed atop elevated Tertiary-era tuffs and sedimentary layers, meaning the mountain's actual volcanic volume is far smaller than its height suggests. The earliest lava...

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Image: Batholith | Public domain

Mount Kurikoma: The Lake That Kills

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY 2.0. Showa Lake sits near Kurikoma's summit, a small crater lake formed during the volcano's last confirmed eruption in November 1944. That eruption was modest -- a VEI-1 event, a burst of steam and volcanic ejecta -- but it poisoned the Iwaki River downstream, turning the water a sic...

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Image: Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan | CC BY 2.0

Mount Kurikoma: Four Thousand Scars

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY 2.0. At 8:43 AM on June 14, 2008, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck roughly ten kilometers northeast of Mount Kurikoma. The Iwate-Miyagi Nairiku earthquake was an inland event, centered directly beneath the volcanic terrain, and its effects on Kurikoma's flanks were devastating. Scien...

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Image: Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan | CC BY 2.0

Mount Kurikoma: The Carpet of the Gods

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY 2.0. Despite its violent geology, Mount Kurikoma is the centerpiece of Kurikoma Quasi-National Park and draws thousands of visitors each year. The mountain's fame rests largely on its autumn foliage. The color change begins near the summit in mid-September and descends to the mountain...

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Image: Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan | CC BY 2.0