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posted: July 31st, 2009 |
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This page begins with July 3rd and takes you through 8:30 AM on July 11th, a trip to Jindai Botanical Garden, a trip to Fujino and a July 10 - 12 climb of Mt. Yatsugatake in Nagano Prefecture. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
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| Begin July 3rd |
On July 3rd Kazuya and I went to Jindai Botanical Garden to check on the progress of the summer flowers. This first row shows you 2 photos of some beautiful Mountain Lilies and 1 photo of a very strangely colored Lily.
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 Jul3_JindaiBG002 _MountainLilyRC |
 Jul3_JindaiBG008 _MountainLilyRC |
 July3rd_JindaiBG 011_LilyRC |
The Artichokes (Cynara scolymus) were also very beautiful. Here are 3 shots of Artichoke flowers. The "thorns" on these things are SHARP!
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 July3rd_JindaiBG014_ Artichoke_Cynara_scolymusRC |
 Jul3_JindaiBG025_ Artichoke_Cynara_scolymusRC |
 Jul3_JindaiBG027_ Artichoke_Cynara_scolymusRC |
The first photo in this row is a beautiful White Lotus Flower and the remaining 2 images are Hibiscus (Hibiscus syriacus cv.).
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 Jul3_JindaiBG 039_LotusRC |
 Jul3_JindaiBG051_ Hibiscus_syriacusRC |
 July3rd_JindaiBG037_Doctor Uemoto_Hibiscus_syriacusRC |
Here is an image of Buddleja avidii, a "screw flower" (Spiranthes sinensis) - you can easily imagine how it got its name - and then a beautiful Water Lily.
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 Jul3_JindaiBG067_ Buddleja_avidiiRC |
 Jul3_JindaiBG062_ Spiranthes_sinensisRC |
 July3rd_JindaiBG 051_WaterLilyRC |
Here are 3 photos of very beautiful Water Lilies. Every summer the Botanical Garden grows these in outdoor pools.
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 July3rd_JindaiBG 052_WaterLilyRC |
 Jul3_JindaiBG 075_WaterLilyRC |
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These shots are a natural pond and a naturally occurring Water Lily with a perfect reflection - it was extremely photogenic! Note the dragonfly in the upper left of the 2nd photo.
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 July3rd_JindaiBG059_Pond_ WaterLily_ReflectionRC |
 July3rd_JindaiBG067_Pond_ WaterLily_ReflectionRC |
In the first shot in this row the reflection is nicely distorted due to a fish having just jumped. The 2nd shot is from further away to give you a perspective.
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 July3rd_JindaiBG069_Pond_ WaterLily_ReflectionRC |
 Jul3_JindaiBG095_Pond_ WaterLily_ReflectionRC |
| End July 3rd, Begin July 4th |
On July 4th we went out to Fujino to the Fujino Hot Spring. From Fujino Station there is a free bus to the Hot Spring, but after our 4 hours at the Hot Spring we walked (a 2-hour walk) back to the train station. We passed this place - the sign says "HAPPY DRINK SHOP", but all that exists on the spot are these 5 vending machines! Interesting. The final image is "Tengu" - The Long Nosed God, at Takao Station with a Chuo Line Train in the Background.
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 July4_Happy DrinkShop02RC |
 July4_Takao _Tengu03RC |
| End July 4th, Begin July 10th |
On July 10th, 11th and 12th Kazuya and I had a real adventure. We climbed Mt. Yatsugatake in Nagano Prefecture. Yatsugatake translates as "8 high mountains". There are more peaks than that, however, and we attained 7 peaks! It was a rough adventure. On the first day (shown on this page) it was raining, windy (Gale Force) and near white-out conditions on the first peak we attained. In this row the first photo is at the bottom of the mountain, as we were starting the climb. It only got worse after we gained some elevation. The 2nd and 3rd shots show you a "Chocolate Lily" (Fritillaria camschatcensis) - a flower which we have never before seen in the wild. The weather was so dark that we had to use our flash and do our best to protect our cameras from the falling rain. It was tough.
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 Jul10_Yatsugatake 02_CloudsRC |
 July10th065_ UptoMtIouRC |
 July10th036_ UptoMtIouRC |
Here is one final shot of a "Chocolate Lily" (Fritillaria camschatcensis) - we never saw them again on the climb. The 2nd shot is a trail junction right at the place where we reached the main ridge which connects all of the peaks together. Maybe you can see that we are above tree line now and that the white-out is getting worse.
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 Jul10_Yatsugatake25_ Fritillaria_camschatcensisRC |
 July10th077_ MtIouRC |
Here is one shot of a rock sticking up through the mist. The 2nd shot is the Io-dake Mountain Hut where we stayed the night. The food was great. It was a nice place to stay. We slept on the left hand side behind where I took this shot from. The tough part was finding our way from the summit of Mt. Io-dake (2,760 meters = 9,055 feet) to this hut. The wind was blowing so bad on the Io-dake summit that we sat down and rested and ate a snack in the emergency shelter provided. Then we started down the mountain towards the hut, but the mountain is just rocks, so there is no well defined trail - at least not in a white-out. There are man-made rock gendarmes every now and then, but it was impossible for us to see from one of them to the next. I'll show you a photo of the rock gendarmes on a later page - after the weather clears up tomorrow!
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 July10th091_ MtIouRC |
 Jul10_Yatsugatake30_ Iodake_HutRC |
| End July 10th, Begin July 11th |
Now it's July 11th. We are hiking from the hut, south to Mt. Akadake, and then returning north, back past this same hut and continuing on north to a different hut. On the way to Mt. Akadake we're going to pass over Mt. Yokodake (2,829 meters = 9,281 feet) and Mt. Sansha (2,825 meters = 9,268 feet). Then we will get to Mt. Akadake (2,899 meters = 9,511 feet). The first 2 photos here show you a Violet which grows only on this mountain - Viola crassa ssp. yatsugatakeana. It is not very common and we considered ourselves fortunate to see it. In the 3rd photo it is just beginning to clear up. The weather forecast was for cloudy and then sunny - we were hoping that it was correct. At least it was no longer raining - but walking in the clouds was wet anyway.
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 July11th031_ YokodakeAkadakeRC |
 July11th042_ YokodakeAkadakeRC |
 July11th064_ YokodakeAkadakeRC |
The first shot shows me disappearing into the clouds. The 2nd shot shows you some beautiful blue flowers. The 3rd shot is a photogenic rock with it's coating of lichen and some of those blue flowers growing in front of it.
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 July11th069_ YokodakeAkadakeRC |
 July11th072_ YokodakeAkadakeRC |
 July11th076_ YokodakeAkadakeRC |
Here are some white flowers taken so that a rock juts up behind them. The 2nd shot is Kazuya standing on a small un-named peak. The 3rd shot shows swirling clouds (you can't see them swirling though) and craggy ground down slope from us. Beginning to look like the weather forecast might be correct.
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 July11th102_ YokodakeAkadakeRC |
 Jul11_Yatsugatake 001_KazuyaRC |
 July11th112_ YokodakeAkadakeRC |
| End Page 1, but July 11th continues on Page 2 |
| Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 2 for the continuation of this months adventures. Page 2 begins at 8:31 AM on July 11th. |
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