danwiz.com
This is Page 2 of 5 - the best of May 2010!
posted: May 31st, 2010
Go To Page:

As I said on the previous page, this page begins where Page 1 left off - at 8:42 AM on May 1st. This page ends at 9:41 AM on May 3rd with a trip to Sabane-Yama, a small mountain near Kazuya's house. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

May 1st Continues From Page 1
  Okay, Page 1 ended on May 1st at 8:35 AM. This page picks up from there. We are now hiking DOWN from the HaHaNoShira Waterfall back towards the bus stop. Now the sun is high enough so that we can take photos which we could not take on our way up this trail. Here are 3 beautiful Viola rossii photos. We saw so many of this species on this trail that we were shocked.
May1stKawaguchiko044RC
May1st
Kawaguchiko044RC
May1_HaHaNoShiraTakiTrail104SIP_CROP_Viola_rossiiRC
May1_HaHaNoShiraTakiTrail
104SIP_CROP_Viola_rossiiRC
May1_HaHaNoShiraTakiTrail102_Viola_rossiiRC
May1_HaHaNoShiraTakiTrail
102_Viola_rossiiRC

  This is the violet we came to this specific place to find! It is Viola mirabilis var. subglabra. You saw this violet last month on the trail from Nagasaka Train Station to Hinoharu Station (Page 3), but it was not as beautiful there as it is here. Maybe the soil is better here or the weather is better - who knows? Anyway, we noticed that fact when we were at Nagasaka - we said to each other "this is not as pretty as the Viola mirabilis var. subglabra along the HaHaNoShira Waterfall trail".
May1_HaHaNoShiraTakiTrail120_Viola_mirabilis_var_subglabraRC
May1_HaHaNoShiraTakiTrail120_
Viola_mirabilis_var_subglabraRC
May1stKawaguchiko071CropRC
May1stKawaguchiko
071CropRC
May1_HaHaNoShiraTakiTrail121_Viola_mirabilis_var_subglabraRC
May1_HaHaNoShiraTakiTrail121_
Viola_mirabilis_var_subglabraRC

  Here is another shot of Viola mirabilis var. subglabra and then a Chloranthus japonicus with a Viola mirabilis var. subglabra growing at its base. The 3rd shot is another Viola mirabilis var. subglabra. That's all for May 1st - we went back to the Kawaguchi Lake Train Station and headed for home. We downloaded our photos to our computers, did laundry and so on and then headed back out the next morning for Kazuya's hometown - Funagata, in Yamagata Prefecture.
May1_HaHaNoShiraTakiTrail163_Viola_mirabilis_var_subglabraRC
May1_HaHaNoShiraTakiTrail
163_Viola_mirabilis_var_subglabraRC
May1_HaHaNoShiraTakiTrail153_Chloranthus_japonicusRC
May1_HaHaNoShiraTakiTrail
153_Chloranthus_japonicusRC
May1_HaHaNoShiraTakiTrail202_Viola_mirabilis_var_subglabraRC
May1_HaHaNoShiraTakiTrail
202_Viola_mirabilis_var_subglabraRC
End May 1st, Begin May 2nd
  On the right is the Shinkansen Train we took from Tokyo to Shinjo Station in Yamagata Prefecture. On the left is the local train we took from Shinjo to Kazuya's hometown of Funagata - that was 1 stop BACK in the direction we had just come from, but the Shinkansen Train doesn't stop at Funagata. The 2nd shot is an Asarum sieboldii - a new species of Asarum for us. This was just up on the small mountain behind Kazuya's house. The 3rd shot is a beautiful Trout Lily (Erythronium japonicum) - also behind Kazuya's house.
May02_Funagata_001_Shinkansen_NormalTrainRC
May02_Funagata_001_
Shinkansen_NormalTrainRC
May2nd005FunagataRC
May2nd005
FunagataRC
May02_Funagata_010__Erythronium_japonicumRC
May02_Funagata_010__
Erythronium_japonicumRC

  In this row the first photo is an Anemone pseudoaltaica. This sometimes has a bluish/purplish flower and sometimes a pure white flower. The bluish flowered ones are more photogenic. The next 2 photos are Trillium smallii. This, unlike the Trillium species on Page 1 (Row 12), was not a new species for us, but this is a very beautiful one, with a larger than normal flower.
May02_Funagata_019_Anemone_pseudoaltaicaRC
May02_Funagata_019
_Anemone_pseudoaltaicaRC
May02_Funagata_044_Trillium_spRC
May02_Funagata
_044_Trillium_spRC
May02_Funagata_049_Trillium_spRC
May02_Funagata
_049_Trillium_spRC

  Here are 3 photos of Viola vaginata. This is one which we also saw here last year, so not new for us, but very pretty. The first shot shows the leaf, the 2nd shot shows the flower spur and the 3rd photo shows the flower.
May02_Funagata_060_Viola_vaginataRC
May02_Funagata_
060_Viola_vaginataRC
May02_Funagata_061_Viola_vaginataRC
May02_Funagata_
061_Viola_vaginataRC
May02_Funagata_062_Viola_vaginataRC
May02_Funagata_
062_Viola_vaginataRC

  Here is a shot of the root of Viola vaginata - it's obviously a perennial. The 2nd shot is an immature Anemone pseudoaltaica plant - a very beautiful immature pink color. The 3rd shot is another Trout Lily (Erythronium japonicum).
May02_Funagata_066_Viola_vaginata_ROOTRC
May02_Funagata_066_
Viola_vaginata_ROOTRC
May02_Funagata_068_Red_Leaved_PlantRC
May02_Funagata_068
_Red_Leaved_PlantRC
May02_Funagata_087__Erythronium_japonicumRC
May02_Funagata_087__
Erythronium_japonicumRC

  Here are 2 shots of Heloniopsis orientalis and a shot of a somewhat mutated Anemone pseudoaltaica.
May02_Funagata_098_Heloniopsis_orientalisRC
May02_Funagata_098
_Heloniopsis_orientalisRC
May02_Funagata_107_Heloniopsis_orientalisRC
May02_Funagata_107
_Heloniopsis_orientalisRC
May2nd091FunagataRC
May2nd091
FunagataRC

  Here is a new flower for us. Kazuya managed to identify this as Coptis japonica. It is followed by a white flowered version of Anemone pseudoaltaica and then the final shot in this row is another Coptis japonica.
May02_Funagata_108_Little_WhiteFlowered_PlantRC
May02_Funagata_108_Little
_WhiteFlowered_PlantRC
May2nd111FunagataRC
May2nd111
FunagataRC
May2nd099FunagataRC
May2nd099
FunagataRC

  Here you can see a great shot of Viola hondoensis and then 2 shots of Trout Lily (Erythronium japonicum.
May02_Funagata_127_Viola_hondoensisRC
May02_Funagata_127
_Viola_hondoensisRC
May2nd115FunagataRC
May2nd115
FunagataRC
May2nd122FunagataRC
May2nd122
FunagataRC

  The first shot here is a Trout Lily (Erythronium japonicum) and an Anemone pseudoaltaica growing side-by-side. The 2nd shot shows you that on this date (May 2nd) there was still snow in this small creek-bed. The 3rd shot is a Viola rostrata. We also saw this one here last year
May02_Funagata_149__Erythronium_japonicumRC
May02_Funagata_149
__Erythronium_japonicumRC
May02_Funagata_150_SnowInTheCreekRC
May02_Funagata_150
_SnowInTheCreekRC
May2nd134FunagataRC
May2nd134
FunagataRC

  Here are 2 very beautiful shots of Viola vaginata followed by a shot of a VERY tiny violet - Viola violacea var. makinoi. We found this one here last year too, but not in this precise spot. This violet is quite fussy about where it will grow and we are always extremely excited to find it. And, that's all for May 2nd.
May2nd158FunagataRC
May2nd158
FunagataRC
May2nd160FunagataRC
May2nd160
FunagataRC
May02_Funagata_214_Viola_violacea_var_makinoiRC
May02_Funagata_214_Viola
_violacea_var_makinoiRC
End May 2nd, Begin May 3rd
  We started May 3rd with Kazuya's father taking us to his small farm. On the hillside above his farm lots of exciting plants grow. Here is another beautiful example of Trillium smallii. It is followed by 2 beautiful shots of Lysichiton camtschatcense, or Skunk Cabbage.
May03_Funagata_009__Trillium_spRC
May03_Funagata_
009__Trillium_spRC
May03_Funagata_020_Lysichiton_camtschatcenseRC
May03_Funagata_020_
Lysichiton_camtschatcenseRC
May3rd012FunagataRC
May3rd012
FunagataRC

  In first position in this row you can find a fine example of Viola vaginata. In 2nd position is a final shot of Skunk Cabbage (Lysichiton camtschatcense). Then, in 3rd position is a thick little patch of Chrysosplenium pilosum var. sphaerospermum.
May3rd015FunagataRC
May3rd015
FunagataRC
May03_Funagata_024_Lysichiton_camtschatcenseRC
May03_Funagata_024_
Lysichiton_camtschatcenseRC
May03_Funagata_031_Chrysosplenium_pilosum_var_sphaerospermumRC
May03_Funagata_031_Chrysosplenium
_pilosum_var_sphaerospermumRC

  Next, Kazuya's father took us to a small mountain - Sabane Yama - to ask us to identify a strange flower for him. You can see the flower in the 1st and 2nd shots in this row. It is Epigaea asiatica. WHEW! We knew it, as we had seen it before, when we visited Kusatsu. The 3rd photo is a shot from Sabane Yama looking out at the scenery.
May3rd026FunagataRC
May3rd026
FunagataRC
May03_Funagata_045_Epigaea_asiaticaRC
May03_Funagata_045
_Epigaea_asiaticaRC
May03_Funagata_049_SceneryRC
May03_Funagata
_049_SceneryRC

  Here is a final shot of Epigaea asiatica and then a shot of a Mountain Cherry tree with flowers. This is not the end of May 3rd - it's now only 9:41 AM. We still have another adventure planned for this day, so please continue on to Page.
May3rd037FunagataRC
May3rd037
FunagataRC
May03_Funagata_059_CherryRC
May03_Funagata
_059_CherryRC
End Page 2, but May 3rd continues on Page 3
Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 3 for the continuation of May 3rd - a trip to Ichi No Taki (Waterfall). Go To Page:


Purchase Photos Complete List Of All Photos E-mail us Go to the Special Items Page
Top Of Page Lightbox Instructions Comprehensive Site Map Return to our home 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.)