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posted: June 30th, 2013 |
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This page continues the best photos of June 8th as we climbed towards the summit of Mt. Kurotake (1,793 m = 5,882 ft). We begin this page at 11:00 AM exactly and go through the end of the day and then we go through most of the day of June 9th and a climb of Mt. Mitsutouge (1,786 m = 5,860 ft). Click on any thumbnail to begin.
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| June 8th Continues From Page 1 (at 11:00 AM) |
Okay, as it says above, now it's 11:00 AM and we still have not reached the summit of Mt. Kurotake. In this row in 1st position is a shot of Smilacina japonica. Then, we found something which we had hoped to find here - it is in 2nd and 3rd positions and it's an Orchid. It is Galearis cyclochila - A Rare Orchid, well, maybe not precisely "Rare", but not common, as most Orchids are not common, but hard to find and only maybe 5 inches (13 cm) in height. The flowers are maybe 0.4 inches (1 cm) in diameter. The Japanese name of this Orchid is the Kamome Ran (Ran = Orchid). Kamome means Seagull. Can you find the portion that looks like a seagull? There are several photos of this Orchid - as we always show several photos of Orchids. Each is a little different, so please don't curse us for showing you so many photos of the same flower. By the way, this is the sixth of 15 different orchids you will see on this month's 3 pages.
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 Jun08_31_MtKurotake_ Smilacina_japonicaRC |
 June8th_MtKurotake029 _GalearisCyclochilaRC |
 June8th_MtKurotake030 _GalearisCyclochilaRC |
Here are 3 more shots of the Galearis cyclochila Orchid (Kamome Ran in Japanese). We took, or I should say, we kept 125 shots of this Orchid, so be thankful that we'll only show you a small percentage of those.
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 June8th_MtKurotake031 _GalearisCyclochilaRC |
 June8th_MtKurotake035 _GalearisCyclochilaRC |
 June8th_MtKurotake041 _GalearisCyclochilaRC |
And here are 3 more shots of the Galearis cyclochila Orchid (Kamome Ran in Japanese). It's so beautiful and fragile looking. We only found one small group of this Orchid on this day (we'll show you a couple more shots tomorrow).
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 June8th_MtKurotake045 _GalearisCyclochilaRC |
 June8th_MtKurotake050 _GalearisCyclochilaRC |
 June8th_MtKurotake055 _GalearisCyclochilaRC |
And, 3 more shots of the Galearis cyclochila Orchid (Kamome Ran in Japanese).
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 June8th_MtKurotake056 _GalearisCyclochilaRC |
 June8th_MtKurotake058 _GalearisCyclochilaRC |
 Jun08_45_MtKurotake_ Galearis_cyclochilaRC |
And, 3 more shots of the Galearis cyclochila Orchid (Kamome Ran in Japanese).
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 Jun08_48_MtKurotake_ Galearis_cyclochilaRC |
 Jun08_49_MtKurotake_ Galearis_cyclochilaRC |
 June8th_MtKurotake069 _GalearisCyclochilaRC |
And, 3 more shots of the Galearis cyclochila Orchid (Kamome Ran in Japanese), nearly the final shots.
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 Jun08_55_MtKurotake_ Galearis_cyclochilaRC |
 June8th_MtKurotake079 _GalearisCyclochilaRC |
 Jun08_61_MtKurotake _SomeFernRC |
And, he final shot 9for today) of the Galearis cyclochila Orchid (Kamome Ran in Japanese). The 2nd shot is a Smilacina japonica and the 3rd shot shows a Abelia spathulata var. sanguinea.
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 June8th_MtKurotake085 _GalearisCyclochilaRC |
 June8th_MtKurotake103 _SmilacinaJaponicaRC |
 June8th_MtKurotake102_Abelia SpathulataVarSanguineaRC |
In this row are 3 different flowers. In first position is a Weigela hortensis, in 2nd position is a Clematis tosaensis and in 3rd position is a flower which we showed you on the previous page - a Geranium eriostemon var. reinii f. onoei.
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 Jun08_75_MtKurotake_ Weigela_hortensisRC |
 June8th_MtKurotake109 _ClematisTosaensisRC |
 June8th_MtKurotake116_Geranium EriostemonVarReiniiFOnoeiRC |
Here are 3 more shots of the Geranium eriostemon var. reinii f. onoei. It's such a pleasing color.
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 Jun08_77_MtKurotake_Geranium _eriostemon_var_reinii_f_onoeiRC |
 June8th_MtKurotake120_Geranium EriostemonVarReiniiFOnoeiRC |
 Jun08_81_MtKurotake_Geranium _eriostemon_var_reinii_f_onoeiRC |
Here is a final shot of Geranium eriostemon var. reinii f. onoei followed by a Silver Orchid with the long bracts - Cephalanthera longibracteata. Then there is a shot of a Violet which we had never seen before - a new addition to our life list of Violets. It's a Viola acuminata.
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 June8th_MtKurotake122_Geranium EriostemonVarReiniiFOnoeiRC |
 June8th_MtKurotake126_ CephalantheraLongibracteataRC |
 June8th_MtKurotake132 _ViolaAcuminataRC |
Here is one more shot of Viola acuminata and that's followed by another shot of Vincetoxicum acuminatum. In 3rd position is an Abelia spathulata.
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 June8th_MtKurotake135 _ViolaAcuminataRC |
 June8th_MtKurotake143 _VincetoxicumAcuminatumRC |
 June8th_MtKurotake149 _AbeliaSpathulataRC |
In 1st position here is another Silver Orchid with long bracts - the Cephalanthera longibracteata. In 2nd and 3rd positions are shots of Iris setosa - a small Wild Iris.
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 Jun08_103_MtKurotake _Cephalanthera_longibracteataRC |
 Jun08_106_MtKurotake _Iris_setosaRC |
 June8th_MtKurotake152 _IrisSetosaRC |
In first position in this row is a final shot of Cephalanthera longibracteata. In 2nd and 3rd positions are shots of a HUGE flowered Wild Rose - Rosa hirtula.
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 Jun08_111_MtKurotake _Cephalanthera_longibracteataRC |
 June8th_MtKurotake163 _RosaHirtulaRC |
 Jun08_113_MtKurotake _Rosa_hirtulaRC |
In 1st and 2nd positions are shots of Lithospermum zollingeri - an overview shot and a close-up shot. In 3rd position is a beautiful fried shrimp dinner which we ate. When we stay in the Kawaguchi Lake area we always come to this same restaurant and we always order this same dinner. The shrimp are SO big and SO delicious. And - this dinner is only ¥1,000, about equal to USD 10.00.
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 Jun08_115_MtKurotake _Lithospermum_zollingeriRC |
 June8th_MtKurotake167 _LithospermumZollingeriRC |
 June8th_MtKurotake169 _TakatoShokudouRC |
By the way, I got around to making a collage of seven of the Galearis cyclochila Orchid photos and here that is. The base photo is an overview and most of the other photos are ones which you can see in other places on this page.
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 June08_MtKurotake_ Collage_GalearisCyclochilaRC |
| End June 8th, Begin June 9th |
Now it's June 9th and we are climbing up the Hahanoshira Waterfall Trail to the summit of Mt. Mitsutouge (1,786.1 m = 5,860 ft). It's not as high as Mt. Kurotake, the mountain we climbed yesterday, but it's a much more difficult climb. We did not get any good shots of the Hahanoshira Waterfall, but we have seen it several times in past years, so if you are interested you can go to the home page and type Hahanoshira in the Google Search box at the top of the page. The first shot in this row is looking at the ridgeline where Mt. Kurotake is. The 2nd and 3rd shots show Sun Rays coming through the trees in the forest as we began this climb. They are quite similar, but different enough so that we wanted to use both of them.
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 Jun09_07_MtMitsutouge Climb_SceneryRC |
 June9th_Haha NoShirataki005RC |
 Jun09_08FR_MtMitsutouge Climb_SunRaysRC |
In 1st position in this row is a specimen of Styrax japonica. In 2nd position is a very strange colored flower on some kind of Arisaema sp. In 3rd position is a 3 shot "High Dynamic Range" image Tone-mapped with Photomatix Pro using the Tone Compressor Option. It started out as 3 separate exposure-bracketed photos. Of course it's Mt. Fuji.
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 June9th_HahaNoShirataki 006_StyraxJaponicaRC |
 Jun09_35_MtMitsutouge Climb_Arisaema_spRC |
 Jun09_16_17_18_TMTC_Mt MitsutougeClimb_MtFujiRC |
We found 2 or 3 more specimens of Isis setosa today too - here is one of them. In 2nd position is a 2 shot panorama of Mt. Fuji. I adjusted the lighting on this one with the High Dynamic Range tool of Photoshop. In 3rd position is an un-retouched photo of Mt. Fuji. You can also see Kawaguchiko (Kawaguchi Lake) in this shot.
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 June9th_MtMitsutouge 020_IrisSetosaRC |
 Jun09_42_43_Panorama_HDR_Mt MitsutougeClimb_MtFujiRC |
 Jun09_39_MtMitsutouge Climb_MtFujiRC |
WOW! We found another Orchid today. This is a species with no chlorophyll - Neottia asiatica. And this is the seventh of 15 different orchids you will see on this month's 3 pages. The 1st and 3rd shots are close-up shots and the center shot is an overview shot in which I have brightened the area around the Orchid.
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 June9th_MtMitsutouge 048Crop_NeottiaAsiaticaRC |
 Jun09_53_MtMitsutouge Climb_Neottia_asiaticaRC |
 Jun09_57_MtMitsutouge Climb_Neottia_asiaticaRC |
In first position is a Malus toringo - the Malus genus includes the apples. This is the Japanese Crabapple. The 2nd image is a 3 shot Panorama of Mt. Fuji. The 3rd shot is another Viola acuminata - this is the violet which we had never seen before this trip, and we were fortunate enough to find it on both days.
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 June9th_MtMitsutouge 052_MalusToringoRC |
 Jun09_46_47_48_Panorama_Mt MitsutougeClimb_MtFujiRC |
 June9th_MtMitsutouge 053_ViolaAcuminataRC |
Then I saw this plant (1st and 3rd positions) and asked Kazuya "what kind of lily is that?" He responded with a surprised squeal and answered "that's a very rare Orchid". And, indeed, we had found an extremely rare Orchid - the Cypripedium macranthum var. speciosum - one of the "Slipper Orchids". This one is a Special Domestic Endangered Species! And, we found it in the wild with no fences around it or anything! So very fortunate! This is the eighth of 15 different orchids you will see on this month's 3 pages. The center photo is another example of Viola acuminata. We found the violet and the orchid together.
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 June9th_MtMitsutouge062_Cypripedium MacranthumVarSpeciosumRC |
 June9th_MtMitsutouge 056_ViolaAcuminataRC |
 June9th_MtMitsutouge064_Cypripedium MacranthumVarSpeciosumRC |
Here is a tightly cropped shot of Viola acuminata and that is followed by 2 shots of the Cypripedium macranthum var. speciosum. Too bad we were not a few days later - the Orchid would probably be fully open if we were.
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 June9th_MtMitsutouge055 Crop_ViolaAcuminataRC.jpg |
 Jun0967MtMitsutougeCypripedium MacranthumVarSpeciosumRC |
 Jun09_70_MtMitsutougeClimb_ Cypripedium_macranthum_var_speciosumRC |
And here is a final shot of this particular Cypripedium macranthum var. speciosum. The following 2 shots show Mt. Fuji from a grassy plateau and if you study the photos just a bit you'll see the insects flying around. There were LOTS of little biting files here.
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 Jun0974MtMitsutougeCypripedium MacranthumVarSpeciosumRC |
 Jun09_76_MtMitsutouge Climb_MtFujiRC |
 Jun09_78_MtMitsutouge Climb_MtFujiRC |
We are now getting close to the summit of Mt. Mitsutouge (1,786.1 m = 5,860 ft). The first shot shows the summit from a little distance, and all of the radio/telephone towers. The 2nd shot shows me looking off at Mt. Fuji from a huge rock and the 3rd shot shows a zoomed in shot of the Mt. Mitsutouge summit.
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 Jun09_82_MtMitsutouge Climb_SceneryRC |
 June9th_MtMitsutouge 078_MtFujiRC |
 Jun09_83_MtMitsutouge Climb_SceneryRC |
Around the hut and summit area of Mt. Mitsutouge were several specimens of Cypripedium macranthum var. speciosum - the very rare orchid, but they were all in protective cages to keep people from stealing them. In addition, all areas where they were growing were fenced off and you just had to use the zoom mode of your camera to get shots of them. The 2nd shot in this row shows a pretty butterfly - a Nymphalis xanthomelas. In 3rd position is a Paris verticillata.
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 June9th_MtMitsutouge087_Cypripedium MacranthumVarSpeciosumRC |
 Jun09_88_MtMitsutougeClimb_ Nymphalis_xanthomelasRC |
 June9th_MtMitsutouge091_ ParisVerticillataRC |
| End Page 2, but June 9th Continues on Page 3 |
| Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 3 for the continuation and conclusion of this day's and this month's adventures. |
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