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posted: June 30th, 2012 |
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This page begins with June 8th and a trip to the Yatsugatake Mountains. The Yatsugatake Mountains are a volcanic mountain range on the border between Nagano Prefecture and Yamanashi Prefecture. It was our 3rd visit to this mountain range. This time we summited Mt. Aka (Akadake) at 2,899 m (= 9.511 ft), Mt. Yoko (Yokodake) at 2,829 m (= 9,281 ft), Mt. Sansha at 2,825 m (= 9,268 ft) and Mt. Io (Iodake) at 2,760 m (=9,055 ft). This page ends with June 10th and our return home. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
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| Begin June 8th |
Here, in first position, is a photo of the Yatsugatake Mountain Range as taken from the train on the way to Chino. We got off the train at Chino and had to take a taxi from there to the trailhead, which is shown in the 2nd photo. From the trailhead we had to hike for about an hour before we got to the end of what might be called a logging road and started hiking on a trail which could not be traversed by a 4-wheel drive vehicle. The 3rd photo shows a mutant Viola hirtipes flower on the left. As it says in the header, this was our 3rd trip to the Yatsugatake Mountains. If you would like to visit our other adventures to these mountains you can use the search box below. Alternately, you can go to the "All Photos List" (link at bottom of this page) and visit the photos taken during July 2009 and June 2010.
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In first position in this row is a shot of a pink Gentiana sp. flower - not a common color at all! In 2nd position is a shot of Mt. Amida (Amidadake) taken from the trail. We did not climb this mountain, although we were thinking about it this year. In 3rd position is a shot of an Oxalis sp. flower. I can't remember what the circumstances here were, but it looks like this plant is floating in the air or in water.
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Now we arrive at the section of trail where we can find Calypso Orchids (Calypso bulbosa var. speciosa). We also found Calypso Orchids here in June of 2010 - 2 years ago. You can review those photos HERE (new window or tab). As I said in June 2010 "Due to the rarity of this plant I have inserted several photos." I am now 64 years old and this is only the 2nd time I have ever seen this Orchid - the first time having been back in 2010. We feel so fortunate to be able to find flowers of this beauty. In the 3rd photo please notice the unattractive little leaf of this exotic flowered plant.
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Here are 3 more images (4 photos) of the Calypso Orchid (Calypso bulbosa var. speciosa). All 3 of these images show the leaves.
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Here are 3 more shots of The Calypso Orchid (Calypso bulbosa var. speciosa) - you can see leaves in 2 of these photos.
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In first position is a collage showing 2 Calypso Orchid (Calypso bulbosa var. speciosa) flowers and in 3rd position is an image showing 2 photos which I merged together with Photoshop. In 1 photo the leaf was in perfect focus and in the 2nd photo the flower was in perfect focus so I put them together, rotated the image to be vertical, cropped off the edges and this is the result - the 2 original photos are shown as inserts to the right of the "fixed" image. In center position is a shot of Oxalis sp. showing several flowers.
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Here is a final image of the Calypso Orchid (Calypso bulbosa var. speciosa). There is a larger version of this collage HERE (new window or tab) and you can also find a link to it on the "Special Items" Page. In 2nd and 3rd position is the same photo - a "One-Leaf Orchid" or Dactylostalix ringens. The center photo is the original photo and the 3rd image is the same as the 2nd photo with a close-up shot of the flower inserted beside it. This orchid is also quite a rare find for us - in all our years of mountain climbing & hiking, I think this is only the 3rd time we have seen it. And, now we are up high enough so that we are out of the forested area and the remainder of the ascent of Mt. Aka (Akadake) will show only scenery.
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Okay, now we are out of the forested area - lots of scenery photos will follow. The first shot in this row shows the Bunzaburou Ridge Area and was taken from a dry creek-bed as we hiked up to Gyoja Hut, the place where we would stop and eat the lunch which we brought with us. The 2nd shot is zoomed in a bit more than the first shot and still shows Bunzaburou Ridge - we'll walk on that ridge tomorrow. The 3rd shot shows me with Mt. Amida (Amidadake) behind me.
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The first 2 shots in this row show shots of Mt. Amida (Amidadake) - the 2nd shot is a zoomed in shot of the area shown in the center of the first shot. The 3rd image is a 3 photo panorama of Mt. Aka (Akadake) and was taken from the Gyoja Hut Area - the place we stopped to eat our lunch. We will ascend Mt. Aka from the right side of the 3rd image.
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In the 1st shot of Mt. Aka (Akadake), if you study the photo for a moment you can see the trail which we will climb up to get to the summit of the mountain. Look about 1/3rd of the distance from the right edge and find the green ridgeline between 2 snow-filled valleys. The 2nd photo shows Kazuya on "the steps". For better shots of "the steps" see the 2 photos in Row 11 of June 2010's photos HERE (new window or tab). The 3rd shot shows Mt. Naka (Nakadake) on the left and Mt. Amida (Amidadake) on the right.
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Here is another shot of Mt. Aka (Akadake) from near the top of "the steps". That's followed by a shot of Bunzaburou Ridge and then a shot of Kazuya near the top of "the steps".
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Here is another shot of Bunzaburou Ridge, showing Mt. Yoko (Yokodake) and Mt. Io (Iodake). In 2nd and 3rd position are photos which show Mt. Naka (Nakadake) in the front and Mt. Amida (Amidadake) behind it.
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The first photo here shows the valley where we came from and the hut where we stopped for lunch just a couple of hours ago. The 2nd shot gives you an idea of how steep Mt. Aka (Akadake) gets as one approaches the summit. Look at all of the chains. The 3rd shot shows me at the summit of Mt. Aka (Akadake) - 2,899 meters = 9,511 feet. On the very right hand side of the photo you can see the Mt. Aka (Akadake) summit hut, our destination. They have hot meals and a place to sleep.
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 Jun08_170_Yatsugatake _ClimbingAkadakeRC |
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The first image here is a 2 shot panorama showing the Mt. Aka (Akadake) summit hut - where we will stay tonight. The 2nd shot shows Kazuya at the summit of Mt. Aka (Akadake) and the 3rd shot shows Kazuya arriving at the Mt. Aka (Akadake) summit hut. And, that's the final shot we will show you from June 8th. It started raining a while after we arrived at the hut and continued to rain all night and most of the following day. That means that we don't have many photos to show you from June 9th.
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| End June 8th, Begin June 9th |
Well, now it's June 9th and it's been raining since yesterday evening. We left the Mt. Aka (Akadake) summit hut at about 6:45 AM and we hiked through the rain and strong (probably gale force) winds across Mt. Sansha and Mt. Yoko (Yokodake), following Bunzaburou Ridge. The ridge is a knife-edge ridge in several places and we did not remember it being so scary, but it was scary - especially with the wind threatening to blow us off! The plant shown in photos 1 and 2 is a rare Pulsatilla japonica. The 3rd shot shows Mt. Yoko (Yokodake) (2,829 m = 9,281 ft) through a break in the clouds. We'll be crossing over it soon.
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Here are 3 more photos taken from near Mt. Yoko (Yokodake) as the clouds lifted and we could finally see where we were going. Unfortunately though, we never could get a clear view back towards Mt. Aka (Akadake), so if you would like to see what it looks like from this general area then you should go back and look at the July 2009 photos - specifically Page 2, Row 11 HERE (new window or tab).
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In first position is another shot of the rare plant - Pulsatilla nipponica. In 2nd position is a shot taken looking back towards Mt. Yoko (Yokodake). The person there is Kazuya. In 3rd position is a very young specimen of Lagotis glauca. For an example of what this plant looks like when it's blooming then you should again go back and look at the July 2009 photos - specifically Page 2, Row 13 HERE (new window or tab).
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In first position we are looking north towards Mt. Neishi and Mt. Tengu, but we are not going that way, we are going to turn and head down towards our next night's stop when we get to that hut you see down at the bottom of this mountain we are on now. The 2nd shot shows a very pretty little patch of lichen of some sort. The 3rd shot is an overview shot to show you how big that little shot of lichen actually is.
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The first shot in this row is Schizocodon ilichifolious f. purpureiflorus as we approach our next night's stop - the hut at Honzawa Hot Spring. The 2nd shot shows the Honzawa Hot Spring Rotenboro (Outdoor Hot Spring). They claim that at 2,150 meters, this is the highest elevation Rotenboro in Japan. The 3rd shot shows the hut where we spent our 2nd - and final - night on the Yatsugatake Mountains. This is the Honzawa Onsen Hut. The Outdoor Hot Spring is about 10 minutes up the mountain from this hut. They also have an indoor hot spring, which is down 5 flights of steps from our dormitory style sleeping room.
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| End June 9th, Begin June 10th |
Okay, now it's June 10th - and still raining. This is the day we have to get home. The first shot in this row shows the Indoor Hot Spring which I mentioned above - down 5 flights of steps from our dormitory style room. It was a very hot hot spring, but just how hot, I don't know. There was no thermometer here. The 2nd shot shows 1 of the 5 flights of steps which one had to go down from our room to get to the hot spring. The 3rd shot was taken as we left this hut. Today we only had to accomplish a 3 hour hike to arrive at the bus stop - or as we referred to it "a 3 hour tour" (ref. Gilligan's Island).
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We passed through the most amazingly green spruce forest. Not sure what kind of spruce this was - the internet tells me that there are 3 species of spruce on Mt. Yatsugatake. The 2nd shot shows a flash-illuminated shot of the trunks of 2 trees. The 3rd shot shows that we found, once again, Dactylostalix ringens - the One-Leaf Orchid!
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In this row are 3 shots of the One-Leaf Orchid (Dactylostalix ringens). The first shot shows a close-up, the 2nd shot shows Kazuya photographing the group of 4 plants which we found at this location and the 3rd shot shows the group of 4 plants.
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 Jun10_18_Yatsugatake_ DactylostalixRingens_KazuyaRC |
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This first shot shows the pond at the 2nd to the last hut we'll pass on the way to the bus stop. The 2nd shot was taken after we took the bus to the train station where we were bound for - the station we are at is Matsubarako Station - the one shown in red. From here we will pass through the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th highest train stations on any JR (Japan Rail) line. The elevation of each station is shown. You can see that the highest station is Nobeyama Station, at 1,345.7 m (= 4,415 ft). The 3rd shot was taken at Matsubarako Station while we waited to catch our train. You can see Kazuya and one other passenger waiting on the platform.
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As we gained elevation from Matsubarako Station we passed through many small towns which were growing nothing but lettuce! We assume that lettuce needs a cool climate to be successful, and due to the elevation here, it's prime lettuce land. Everything you see growing here is lettuce - NOT rice! The 2nd shot shows Kazuya standing beside the "highest elevation JR station in Japan (1,345.67 m)" sign. The 3rd shot shows the Nobeyama Station sign. There is a 45 m solar observation telescope here, which is the reason there is a satellite dish showing on the station sign. They have an English website HERE (new window or tab).
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| End June 10th, End Page 2 |
| Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 3 for the conclusion of this month's adventures. |
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