 |
posted: May 31st, 2008 |
Go To Page:
|
|
This page actually begins with April 30th, a trip to Koishikawa Botanical Garden, and then goes to Yamagata Prefecture, Kazuya's hometown, Mt. Zao and the largest Willow Tree in Japan. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
|
| Begin April 30th |
On April 30th Kazuya and I went to Koishikawa Botanical Garden for the day. We saw lots of beautiful flowers and photographed them, but the most incredible thing of all which we saw were 4 parrots doing their mating ritual. These parrots are not native to Japan but somewhere and sometime they escaped or were released into the wild and now they have become more or less naturalized. There are more and more of them every year. We even see them flying over our house from time to time.
|
 Apr30_Koishikawa_Parrot28RC |
 Apr30_Koishikawa_Parrot33RC |
 Apr30_Koishikawa_Parrot43RC |
| End April 30th, Begin May 3rd |
For the Golden Week Holidays Kazuya and I went to his hometown - Funagata, in Yamagata Prefecture. The pictures in this row are a "Forget-Me-Not", a new violet for us - Viola rostrata (notice the long flower spur) - and a new Asarum sp. for us.
|
 May03_Funagata_Forget_ Me_Not03RC |
 May03_Funagata_Viola _rostrata05RC |
 May03_Funagata_ Asarum_sp04RC |
Here is another new violet for us, Viola vaginata, a great shot of a "Trout Lily" (Erythronium japonicum) and a beautiful bluish Anemone sp. flower.
|
 May03_Funagata_Viola _vaginata04RC |
 May3_Funagata_Erythronium _japonicum01RC |
 May03_Funagata_ Anamone_sp05RC |
Here is another one of those bluish Anemone sp. flowers and the "Ichi-No" Waterfall.
|
 May03_Waterfall_ Anemone_sp02RC |
 May03_Ichi_no_ Waterfall01RC |
| End May 3rd, Begin May 4th |
The next day father and mother took us to Yamagata City Nature Park and saw this patch of Skunk Cabbage, large areas of Viola verecunda and another new violet - a yellow one - Viola brevistipulata.
|
 May04_ZaoArea_ Skunk_Cabbage02RC |
 May04_ZaoArea_ Viola_verecunda02RC |
 May4_YamagataPk_Viola_ brevistipulata08RC |
Here is another shot of the Viola brevistipulata and 2 shots of Glaucidium palmatum. In the 3rd shot - notice how the leaves protect the flower until it gets ready to open.
|
 May04_ZaoArea_Viola_ brevistipulata08RC |
 May04_ZaoArea_Glaucidium _palmatum03RC |
 May04_ZaoArea_Glaucidium _palmatum06RC |
Then we went to the Okama Caldera on Mt. Zao. The first shot here shows me in the tiny chair lift seat. The 2nd shot is Kazuya on the chair lift and the 3rd shot is from very close to Okama Caldera Lake.
|
 May4_ZaoSan_ OkamaLift02_DanRC |
 May04_ZaoArea_Okama_ Lift_KazuyaRC |
 May04_Zao_Okama_ Caldera05RC |
Here is the Okama Caldera Lake - still frozen. The 2nd shot shows Mt. Katta-Dake - we went up there too. The 3rd shot is Mom, Dad and I with the Caldera Lake in the background.
|
 May4_ZaoSan_ OkamaCaldera13RC |
 May04_Zao_Okama _Caldera13RC |
 May4_ZaoSan_OkamaCaldera23 _Mom_Dad_DanRC |
Here is another shot of the Caldera, a shot looking to the right of the Caldera and me with the Caldera in the background. You can find a large size JPG file of this image HERE (691 KB)
|
 May04_Zao_Okama _Caldera19RC |
 May04_Zao_Okama _Caldera22RC |
 May4_ZaoSan_OkamaCaldera26_ DanRC or HERE for 652 KB PDF file |
Here are more Caldera and immediate area photos.
|
 May04_Zao_Okama_ Caldera25RC |
 May04_Zao_Okama _Caldera28RC |
 May4_ZaoSan_ OkamaCaldera33RC |
And here is a shot of me with the Caldera in the background and a shot of Kazuya with the Caldera in the background.
|
 May4_ZaoSan_Okama Caldera39_DanRC |
 May04_Zao_Okama_ Caldera35_KazuyaRC |
| End May 4th, Begin May 5th |
On May 5th we went to Tsuya to search for violets, but instead we found the Largest Willow Tree in Japan! Here are 2 shots taken at the Tsuya Station and the little 2 car train. The 3rd shot is the Largest Willow Tree in Japan.
|
 May05_Tsuya _Station_Train03RC |
 May05_Tsuya _Station_Train04RC |
 May05_Tsuya_Japan BiggestWillowTree02RC |
And here is Kazuya after we returned to Tsuya Station and a shot of the biggest willow tree, taken from the Tsuya Station platform.
|
 May05_Tsuya_ Station01KazuyaRC |
 May05_Tsuya_Station04_ BiggestWillowTreeRC |
| End May 5th, End Page 1 |
| And, that shows you what we saw from April 30th through May 5th. Thanks so much for taking the time to look. Please continue on to Page 2 for the continuation of May's photos. |
Go To Page:
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Link to Amazon.com (new window).
We get 2% of whatever you spend if you go to Amazon from this link!! Please shop on Amazon from here.
| If you would like to donate to our hiking & traveling fund or show your appreciation for our efforts you can donate through PayPal. A single donation will entitle you to request a single full-sized photo IN THE DONATION MONTH - which you may then use as a desktop wallpaper or whatever. The copyright will be retained by us and the photo will be inconspicuously marked with the copyright symbol (©), year and photographer's name. (Donation probably not tax deductible.) |