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posted: June 30th, 2010 |
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As promised on Page 1, this page begins with June 5th bright and early in the morning - the continuation of the trip to Mt. Yatsugatake. It takes you through Saturday, June 12th, a trip to Oze National Park, at 10:54 AM. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
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| Begin June 5th - 7:00 AM |
Breakfast at the Mt. Akadake summit hut was served at 5:30 AM. We awoke briefly at 4:00 AM to check whether there was a beautiful sunrise - there was not, it was 100% cloudy, so we went back to sleep until 5:20 AM! This first photo was taken at 7:00 AM, as we passed the Lower Mt. Akadake Hut. The 2nd photo is a small statue at a junction - I briefly mistook this for a person, in the fog. The 3rd shot is the 2nd plant which we were hoping to find on this trip. It is Pulsatilla nipponica. It is only found here and in the Hakuba area, so we were fortunate to see it. It is not yet endangered, just rare due to its limited range. It is VERY HAIRY!
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 June5th004 _AkadakeRC |
 June5th008_ JizouNoKashiraRC |
 June5th022_Yokodake_ PulsatillaNipponicaRC |
Here are 3 more shots of Pulsatilla nipponica. We found many buds, but not too many opened flowers.
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 June5th023_Yokodake_ PulsatillaNipponicaRC |
 Jun05_004_Yatsugatake _Pulsatilla_nipponicaRC |
 Jun05_014_Yatsugatake _Pulsatilla_nipponicaRC |
Here is an Oxytropis japonica in first position. The next shot is me at the summit of Mt. Yokodake (2,829 meters = 9,281.5 feet). The 3rd shot shows that it is trying to clear up. Let's hope for the best.
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 Jun05_019_Yatsugatake_ Purple_Pea_Family_FlowerRC |
 June5th076_ Yokodake_OkuNoInRC |
 June5th060 _YokodakeRC |
Here is the rocky ridge of Mt. Yokodake. The 2nd shot shows Kazuya at the summit of Mt. Yokodake and the 3rd shot is more rocks on the ridge.
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 June5th081 _YokodakeRC |
 Jun05_027_Yatsugatake _YokodakeSummit_KazuyaRC |
 Jun05_030_ Yatsugatake_SceneryRC |
The first 2 shots show where we've been - looking back to the summit of Mt. Yokodake - note the person on top in both photos. Wonder if somebody took our pictures when we were up there? The 3rd shot shows that there is still a lot of snow remaining on this side of the ridge. It also shows that the weather is continuing to clear up little by little - will it get sunny?
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 Jun05_034_ Yatsugatake_SceneryRC |
 June5th115 _YokodakeRC |
 June5th125 _YokodakeRC |
All three shots are looking back towards Mt. Yokodake. In the first shot you can see all the way back to Mt. Akadake. In the 2nd shot you can see how the clouds are swirling around. The 3rd shot has been tone-mapped to bring out the colors.
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 June5th128 _YokodakeRC |
 June5th126 _YokodakeRC |
 Jun05_046TM_ Yatsugatake_IodakeAreaRC |
The first shot here is me approaching the Mt. Iodake Hut - we stayed at this hut last year when we came up here from a totally different direction (See July 2009's photos HERE). The 2nd shot is me at the summit of Mt. Iodake (2,760 meters = 9,055 feet). The 3rd shot shows back to the summit of Mt. Akadake - the left arrow is the summit hut and the right arrow is where we took our break yesterday (Page 1, Row 24, Photo #3).
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 June5th148 _YokodakeRC |
 June5th173 _IoudakeRC |
 June5th204_ AkaiwaNoKashiraRC |
From RIGHT to LEFT in the first photo you can see Mt. Amidadake, Mt. Nakadake & Mt. Akadake. The 2nd photo is the summit of Mt. Akadake - you can see the summit hut and people. The 3rd photo shows the same mountains as the first photo.
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 June5th214_ AkaiwaNoKashiraRC |
 Jun05_083_Yatsugatake _IodakeArea_AkadakeSummitRC |
 June5th 247RC |
We hiked down the Kitazawa (North Creek) Trail back to the bus stop at Minotoguchi. The first shot here is a very strange red creek - I suppose it indicates a lot of iron somewhere upstream. The 2nd and 3rd photos show Kitazawa.
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 June5th259 _KitazawaRC |
 June5th280 _KitazawaRC |
 Jun05_112TM_ Yatsugatake_RC |
Here is the final row from this amazing adventure. The first shot is a final Viola selkirkii. We found a small area where this was the only violet which was growing. There were more than we had ever seen in one place. The 2nd shot is a nice green scenery shot with a beautiful blue sky - note that it DID clear up for us. The 3rd, and final shot, is back at the Minotoguchi Bus Stop. We relaxed for about 1/2 hour waiting for the bus to come. Wonder how many kilometers or miles we walked. We hiked for 8 hours yesterday and about 9 hours today - we covered a lot of ground.
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 Jun05_121_Yatsugatake _Viola_selkirkiRC |
 Jun05_144_Yatsugatake _SceneryRC |
 Jun05_145_Yatsugatake _MinotoguchiBusStopRC |
| End June 5th - 4:03 PM, Begin June 12th - 5:14 AM |
On the weekend of June 12 we headed north to Oze National Park. We took a night bus, which left Tokyo at 10:00 PM. We arrived at a staging area at about 4:00 AM and transferred to smaller buses to head up the mountain roads to the entryway for the park. We arrived at the entrance at 5:14 AM (first photo) and were amazed at the number of people there! We had our lunch and everything with us, so we started hiking immediately. We were headed for a campground and we were carrying our tent, along with today's lunch and supper and tomorrow's breakfast stuff. The 2nd photo shows the entrance to the trail. The 3rd photo is the trail - boardwalk because of this fragile environment - this entire area we will be hiking through is considered marshland, so you can expect to see lots of flat ground, water and wetland flowers. This is now 5:45 AM. There were so many people we could not even stop to snap a photo without making people angry. What had we gotten ourselves into anyway?
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 June12thOze001 _HatomachiTougeRC |
 Jun12_001 _Oze_SceneryRC |
 June12th Oze007RC |
The time now is 6:23 AM and we have hiked far enough so that the crowd of people has thinned out somewhat. At least now it is possible to stop and take photographs and the crowds are small enough so that people can pass us in the other "lane" of the boardwalk! The first photo is a beautiful Trillium tschonoskii flower - you also saw these in last months photos. The 2nd shot shows many Skunk Cabbage (Lysichiton camtschatcense) plants - beautiful. In the 3rd shot you can see just how abundant the Lysichiton camtschatcense were! The mountain here is Mt. Shibutsu. This photo has been enhanced with Shadow Illuminator Pro.
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 Jun12_008_Oze_ Trillium_tschonoskiiRC |
 Jun12_014 _Oze_SceneryRC |
 Jun12_016SIP _Oze_SceneryRC |
Here is another fine shot showing how abundant the Lysichiton camtschatcense were. The 2nd shot is Caltha palustris var. nipponica. It has been cropped. The 3rd shot shows the boardwalk, me and Mt. Shibutsu. You can see that at this point the crowd has thinned out considerably. We are not as disappointed now. We have now passed the first group of huts where some people stopped for breakfast and a break. There have also been a couple of trail junctions and some people have headed off for different destinations.
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 Jun12_018 _Oze_SceneryRC |
 June12thOze022C_Caltha PalustrisVarNipponicaRC |
 June12th Oze024RC |
This photo was taken at 6:55 AM - it shows some nice contrasts looking towards the direction we are going. The 2nd photo is some kind of coniferous tree - I don't know what kind - but it is very old. The 3rd shot shows some pretty new boardwalk, lots of water so that you can see why the boardwalk is needed, and Mt. Shibutsu. We didn't climb any mountains this weekend - we just saw them.
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 Jun12_036_ Oze_SceneryRC |
 Jun12_023_Oze_ Scenery_OldPineRC |
 June12th Oze040RC |
The first shot in this row exhibits a really nice reflection on the water. The 2nd shot shows 2 variations of "Sundew" or Drosera rotundifolia. Note the nearly round "leaves" of the left plant and the much more oblong "leaves" of the right hand plant. We saw these 2 plants in a book at the visitor center, but didn't pay enough attention to them. If I recall correctly, the right hand photo is a hybrid of the round leaved variety and the long skinny leaved variety (which we did not see). The 3rd shot is just a nice scenery shot with many people in it and some nice sky color to contrast with Mt. Shibutsu.
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 Jun12_038 _Oze_SceneryRC |
 June12thOze048_50 _DroseraRotundifoliaRC |
 Jun12_040 _Oze_SceneryRC |
The first shot here is a beautiful blue sky and the delicate greens of spring - yes, it was definitely still only early spring here. The 2nd shot is a single shot which has been Tone-mapped using Photoshop. Then I adjusted the Brightness & Contrast a bit and played with the Hue & Saturation. I like the final result. Do you? The 3rd shot is a typical Oze shot - water, Lysichiton camtschatcense and Mt. Shibutsu.
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 Jun12_042 _Oze_SceneryRC |
 Jun12_049TM_BC_HS _R_Oze_SceneryRC |
 June12thOze071_ LysichitonCamtschatcenseRC |
The first shot here is very similar to the final shot in the previous row, but zoomed in more. It is 3 photos fused into a single image - again showing water, Lysichiton camtschatcense and Mt. Shibutsu. The 2nd shot is the boardwalks and an excellent illustration of why they are needed. The 3rd shot is nice colors.
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 Jun12_058_59_60_ Fused_Oze_SceneryRC |
 June12thOze093_Caltha PalustrisVarNipponicaRC |
 Jun12_062 _Oze_SceneryRC |
The first shot here shows that we are approaching the area where we stayed the night in the campground. It costs about 8,500 Yen ($90US or so) to stay in the huts. To stay in the tent you brought from home it costs 800 Yen (about $9US) per person. In the background you can see Mt. Hiuchigatake. The 2nd shot is an attractive one of Heloniopsis orientalis. The 3rd shot is a mountain cherry - a spring flowering tree. This one is Prunus nipponica var. kurilensis.
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 Jun12_067 _Oze_SceneryRC |
 Jun12_072_Oze_ Heloniopsis_orientalisRC |
 June12thOze149_Prunus NipponicaVarKurilensisRC |
Here is the campground we stayed in. When we arrived (this shot was taken at 10:45 AM) there weren't many tents. After we claimed a spot and set up our tent we hiked around all day and when we returned in the evening there were LOTS of tents! The 2nd shot shows Kazuya as we hike north towards the SanJou Waterfall. The 3rd shot is another photo of Caltha palustris var. nipponica.
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 June12thOze150_ MiharashiCampingLotRC |
 Jun12_095_Oze _Scenery_KazuyaRC |
 Jun12_099_Oze_ Caltha_palustrisRC |
| End Page 2, but June 12th continues on Page 3 |
| Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. The final shot on this page was taken at 10:54 AM on June 12th. Page 3 picks up at 10:56 AM on the 12th and takes you through the remainder of the 12th and all of June 13th. Please continue on to Page 3. |
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