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posted: June 1st, 2009 |
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The photos on this page continue with May 16th - at Mt. Kumotori - and go through the end of the month at Kusatsu. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
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| Begin May 16th |
When we woke up the next morning at 4:30 AM to watch the sunrise we found that we were surrounded by clouds, so we saw no sunrise. The first shot shows cloudy forest, the 2nd shot is the hut as we were leaving and the 3rd shot is another one of cloudy forest. We were fortunate though -- it was NOT raining. It was only 3 degrees C (38 F) this morning.
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Here is a shot of me disappearing into the clouds. The 2nd shot is that same wind bent Larch tree you saw on the previous page, but this time the background is clouds! The 3rd shot is me just below the summit of Mt. Takamaru (1,733 m = 5,686 ft). This is one of the mountains we passed over on our descent - obviously by a different route than the one we climbed by.
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We found Viola hirtipes near this point. This was a new violet for us. We thought maybe we had found it before, but this time we were sure. Due to the weather the colors did not come out well with our cameras. In 2nd position is Kazuya at the summit of Mt. Takamaru - still in the clouds. In the 3rd shot I used the flash and the color is the closest to true.
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The first shot is the summit sign for Mt. Hikagenagurihou (1,725 m = 5,659 ft), then a final shot of Viola hirtipes and finally, the final summit we passed over - Mt. Takanosu (1,737 m = 5,697 ft).
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The first photo here is scenery from Mt. Takanosu. At this point there were occasional holes in the clouds which we could see through. The 2nd shot is a beech-maple forest we passed through on the descent of the final trail. The 3rd shot is a big old Beech tree (Fagus crenata) in the clouds.
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Near the bottom of the final trail one goes around this HUGE ROCK called Inamura Rock, here is a shot of it just where the trail begins to bend around it. The 2nd shot is below the rock along the creek and the 3rd shot shows the beautifully clear creek at the base of Inamura Rock.
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Here is one final shot of Inamura Rock - taken from a ways down the trail. And the final shot is a type of fern called Warabi, which we harvested along the trail for later enjoyment as a topping on various foods. When properly prepared (as Kazuya knows how) it is very delicious.
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| End May 16th |
On the weekend of May 22nd, 23rd and 24th (I had a 3 day weekend, but Kazuya had to work on the 24th) we didn't do much. On Friday we bicycled to Tanashi and visited the Tokyo University - Agriculture Experiment Farm. We walked around there for several hours, but there was nothing very picturesque - therefore no pictures!
On Saturday, the 23rd, we went to the Tokyo (Gay) Pride Festival. There was no Parade this year and therefore people were not decked out in their skimpy clothes. There were lots of speakers and lots of stalls selling everything from dildos to lubricant, but overall, it was rather boring for me - with all of the speakers speaking in Japanese I didn't understand much. So, no pictures from that day either.
On Sunday, the 24th, Kazuya worked and I stayed home and didn't do much of anything - cleaned house.
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| Begin May 29th & 30th |
On the weekend of May 29, 30 and 31 Kazuya and I went to Kusatsu - the Hot Spring town in Gunma Prefecture. We've been here several times before, so if you would like to see more photos of this area then I suggest you go back to the homepage, enter Kusatsu into the search box and hit enter! The first photo in this row shows one of the 18 or 19 FREE Hot Baths in Kusatsu - we visited 9 or 10 of them over the weekend, in addition to doing other stuff. The 2nd photo shows another FREE Hot Bath - Shira-hata bath - with Kazuya standing in front of it. The 3rd shot is Sainokawara Park - a hot water creek runs through here and due to it being a cold and rainy day, the steam is really rising at this time.
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On May 30th we took the bus up to Mt. Shirane - we were in the clouds the whole time we were here - not too much to see. If you want to see pictures from a clear day please look at the photos taken during October 2008 or September 2006. The first photo is Kazuya standing in front of the Mt. Shirane sign. The 2nd photo shows clouds, forest and snow. The 3rd photo shows a new flower for us - Epigaea asiatica.
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Clouds, clouds, clouds plus rain! Here is a shot along the trail to the Cable car. The 2nd shot was taken from inside the car on the Cable - we were the only customers and they were nice enough to start it up for us! The 3rd shot was taken near the bottom of the Cable Car - we finally got below the clouds. This is a beautiful Azalea bush.
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The 1st shot is a bunch of Azalea flowers along the trail we used to descend the mountain. The 2nd and 3rd shots show the flower of Schizocodon soldanelloides - another new flower for us.
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The first shot here is along the trail down the mountain. This is an old ski trail, which is why it is so wide. The 2nd photo shows a "Fern Ring". Weird - growing in a ring like this. We think there is an old tree stump under the ground. The 3rd shot shows a "group" of bothersome hikers which we stopped to let pass us. We were hoping to see some wildlife along this trail, but not much of a chance after this chattering bunch of older folks passed by.
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Here is a shot of me along the trail. It stopped raining for a while. The 2nd shot is a beautiful Rhododendron Bush.
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Here is a shot of a beautiful Azalea Bush and then a shot of a plant which we had never seen before. It is related to the American Starflower - a Trientalis europaea.
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| End May 29th & 30th, End Page 3, End May 2009's Photos |
This is a link to a separate web page showing some photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV.
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| February 22, 2009 DVD Collection, Movie of Home Theater System & Sharp Aquos TV Pictures (new window) |
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| Thanks so much for taking the time to look at the website this month. You can use the e-mail link below to respond with any feedback you might have. |
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