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posted: May 31st, 2010 |
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This page actually begins with April 29th and a trip to Kawaguchi Lake to check out the spring flowers in that area. We were hoping for lots of amazing violets, but the very cool spring set everything back by several days and we were too early for most of them. This page goes through 8:35 AM on May 1st. Click on any thumbnail to begin. |
| Begin April 29th |
I've decided to put all of the Mt. Fuji photos together to show you how the day progressed as far as weather. While we were on the train from Mitaka to Kawaguchi Lake it was cloudy. When we got to Kawaguchi Lake Station it started raining. Then we had to wait about 40 minutes for a bus to Asagiri Kogen. It was raining harder by the time the bus came. It was about a 45 minute bus ride to Asagiri Kogen and while we were on the bus it was a real downpour and the highway was flooded in spots. When we got off the bus the rain continued hard for a little while (fortunately we had our rain gear with us, so we put it on) and then after a short time it turned to sprinkles, then to light sprinkles and finally it stopped altogether. The first photo in this row was taken a while after the rain had stopped and visibility had started to increase. It was 1:02 PM. The 2nd photo was at 1:03 PM. The 3rd photo was taken at 1:06 PM.
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 April29thAsagiri Kougen026RC |
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 Apr29_Asigiri Kogen018__MtFujiRC |
The first photo in this row was taken at 1:40 PM - more blue sky is showing through. The 2nd photo is actually an HDR (High Dynamic Range) Photo - 3 photos fused into 1 photo. All 3 photos were taken at 1:49 PM. The 3rd photo is the same thing, 3 different photos fused into 1 photo. It is, however, zoomed in more than the previous photo and it was taken 1 minute later.
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 Apr29_Asigiri Kogen028__MtFujiRC |
 Apr29_AsigiriKogen033 _34_35_Fused_MtFujiRC |
 Apr29_AsigiriKogen036 _37_38_Fused_MtFujiRC |
In this row, the first photo is 2 photos stitched together. Amazingly enough, I cannot detect the line where the photo is stitched together, not even a little bit. It is now 2:24 PM. The 2nd photo is really zoomed in and you can see blowing snow - I guess it was not RAINING up there at 3,776 meters (12,388 feet). It was taken at 2:25 PM. The 3rd photo was taken at 3:04 PM - now it is totally clear blue sky!
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 Apr29_AsigiriKogen051 _52_Stitch__MtFujiRC |
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The first photo in this row is, once again, 2 photos stitched together. The time now is 4:05 PM. The 2nd photo is another stitched one - it is still 4:05 PM, but this one is zoomed in more than the previous one. The 3rd photo was actually the final photo of the day - it was taken at 5:59 PM, shows blowing snow and shadows on the mountain. It was actually taken after we arrived back at Kawaguchi Station and HAD to be zoomed like this to eliminate all of the electric wires and so on.
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 Apr29_AsigiriKogen095 _96_Stitch__MtFujiRC |
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The first shot in this row was taken at 4:52 PM. The carton is Drinkable Yogurt, which is quite popular here in Japan (and very delicious). The label claims that it is Made With Milk From the Breast of Mt. Fuji - cute! The 2nd photo is a Viola orientalis - one of the violets which we came here to see, and were actually able to find! We have now gone back in time from the previous photos - this was taken at 2:55 PM. The 3rd photo is another Viola orientalis.
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 Apr29_Asigiri Kogen108__MtFujiRC |
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Here is the final Viola orientalis (for today). Our hike today was more or less along the lower forest type break between the hardwoods and the conifers in the 2nd photo. We have no idea why the forest types are so very sharply delineated on this mountain. The final shot is what we had for supper - very beautiful, huge and delicious breaded and fried shrimp! We had this same dinner last year when we came here. By the way, if you're interested you can check out the violets we saw here last year by taking a look at last year's
May photos HERE.
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 Apr29_AsigiriKogen 082_Viola_orientalisRC |
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 April29thTakato Shokudou149RC |
| End April 29th, Begin April 30th |
Here we start April 30th and once again I have decided to put all of the Mt. Fuji photos together at the beginning. The first photo was taken at 5:26 AM at Kawaguchi Lake Station while we waited for the bus to take us to the trail we were going to hike today. The 2nd photo was taken at 7:36 AM while we were hiking the Misaka Pass trail. The 3rd photo was taken at 9:23 AM from Mt. Kurotake (1,793 meters = 5,882 feet).
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The first shot in this row was taken at Shindou Pass at 10:41 AM. The 2nd shot was taken at 11:48 AM from the Oo-Ishi Area. The 3rd shot was taken at 12:50 PM from a forgotten place.
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The first shot in this row was, obviously, taken from the shore of Kawaguchi Lake. The time was 1:34 PM and we were waiting for the bus to come and take us to a Hot Spring, where we could relax and soak our tired bodies. Now, we go back in time again - for the 2nd photo was taken at 9:24 AM and it is from the Mt. Kurotake Area. On the right side of the photo you can see one of the ranges of the Japanese Alps, we are not sure which range though. The 3rd shot is a Viola orientalis and it was taken as we descended the Oo-Ishi Trail at 11:02 AM.
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 Apr30_OoIshi Area147_MtFujiRC |
 April30thMisaka Kurotake036RC |
 Apr30_OoIshi060_ Viola_orientalisRC |
Here are 3 more shots of Viola orientalis. Note the back of the flower is quite a different color than the face.
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 Apr30_OoIshi079 _Viola_orientalisRC |
The first shot in this row is a Viola phalacrocarpa. The 2nd shot is a very beautifully colored Viola grypoceras. The 3rd shot was taken from the bottom of the trail and it is looking back up towards the top of Mt. Kurotake. You can't see the summit from here - this is just to give you an "idea".
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 April30thMisaka Kurotake147RC |
 April30thMisaka Kurotake145RC |
 Apr30_OoIshi 138_RC |
| End April 30th, Begin May 1st |
Now we begin another new day - our 3rd day of adventures in this area. We will be heading home at about 10:00 AM today. We are hiking up the HaHaNoShira-Taki (Waterfall) Trail in search of one specific violet. On the way we found these very beautiful Trillium tschonoskii plants and flowers. WOW! We'd never seen this particular Trillium sp. before, or if we did see it we didn't know because it was not in bloom. On Page 2, in Rows 5 and 13, you can see another species of Trillium. The 3rd shot is a very clear blue sky shot of Mt. Fuji taken at 7:06 AM.
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 May1st Kawaguchiko005RC |
Here is Mt. Fuji at 7:08 AM and then a HDR (High Dynamic Range) Photo of HaHaNoShira Waterfall - it was Tone-Mapped from 3 photos. The color and the water movement came out rather stunning. The 3rd shot is one more shot of HaHaNoShira Waterfall, but only a single shot.
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Here are 2 more shots of HaHaNoShira Waterfall. The 2nd one is the Upper Falls.
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Here is a Viola tokubuchiana var. takedana followed by 2 shots of a very weird Viola eizanensis - this one has a single flower which was mutated and the shape was like a Reindeer Antler or something. The 2nd shot shows only the mutated flower and the 3rd shot shows the entire plant. And, that's all for this page - we still have not found the violet which we came here specifically for.
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 May1st Kawaguchiko016RC |
 May1_HaHaNoShiraTakiTrail 094_Viola_eizanensisRC |
 May1st Kawaguchiko036RC |
| End Page 1, but May 1st continues on Page 2 |
| Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 2 for the continuation of May 1st. The final photo on this page was taken at 8:35 AM - the first photo on Page 2 was taken at 8:42 AM. |
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