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This is Page 1 of 3 - the best of May 2013!
posted: May 31st, 2013
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This page begins with May 3rd while we were waiting at Tokyo Station to take the Yamagata Shinkansen to Kazuya's hometown - Funagata, in Yamagata Prefecture. Then we jump to May 4th and a trip to Tsuruoka's Ooyama Park and a climb of a very minor peak - Mt. Takadate. The next day, May 5th, covers a hike to Funagata's Sabane-yama (Mt. Sabane) - another very minor peak. And, the final date on this page - Kazuya takes you to Mt. Mitake on May 12th.   Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin May 3rd
  The newest Shinkansen Train Series - here is the E6, the "Japan Red". The nose of the E5 and E6 Series, at 15 meters, is a massive 9 meters longer than the previous incarnation of the bullet train (Shinkansen), the E2 Series. This, according to its designers at JR East, will help eliminate the phenomena of "tunnel boom". Japan's rail tunnels are somewhat narrower than their European counterparts, so when the Shinkansen enters a tunnel at speeds above 200 kilometers per hour, the sudden increase in air pressure can cause a loud "boom" at the other end of the tunnel. In some cases, such shock waves are thought to have damaged tunnels in Japan, ripping chunks of material from tunnel ceilings. The shape of the front car has evolved gradually to combat this danger, and the striking "Long Nose" design of the E5 and E6 Series is the result. (I believe that the only difference between the E5 and the E6 is the color.) These new trains can manage an energetic 360 km/h
May03_3_JapanRed_ShinkansenRC
May03_3_JapanRed
_ShinkansenRC
May03_4_JapanRed_ShinkansenRC
May03_4_JapanRed
_ShinkansenRC
End May 3rd, Begin May 4th
  On May 4th Kazuya's father took us in his car to Tsuruoka, where we wanted to find some flowers. We went there and climbed a very minor mountain in Ooyama Park - Mt. Takadate - only about 250 meters in elevation. In this row are 3 photos of Viola kusanoana, which were taken as we climbed Mt. Takadate.
May04_01_Tsuruoka_Viola_kusanoanaRC
May04_01_Tsuruoka
_Viola_kusanoanaRC
May04_02_Tsuruoka_Viola_kusanoanaRC
May04_02_Tsuruoka
_Viola_kusanoanaRC
May04_06_Tsuruoka_Viola_kusanoanaRC
May04_06_Tsuruoka
_Viola_kusanoanaRC

  In this row, in 1st and 2nd position are photos of Viola faurieana, a violet which we have only found once or twice before this. In 3rd position is a beautiful example of Viola violacea var. makinoi.
May4th_OoyamaParkTsuruoka020_ViolaFaurieanaRC
May4th_OoyamaParkTsuruoka
020_ViolaFaurieanaRC
May4th_OoyamaParkTsuruoka021_ViolaFaurieanaRC
May4th_OoyamaParkTsuruoka
021_ViolaFaurieanaRC
May04_14_Tsuruoka_Viola_violacea_var_makinoiRC
May04_14_Tsuruoka_Viola
_violacea_var_makinoiRC

  In 1st and 3rd position in this row are 2 more examples of Viola faurieana. In center position is the beautiful light green spring forest - this is a Beech (Fagus sp.) and Maple (Acer sp.) forest.
May04_23_Tsuruoka_Viola_faurieanaRC
May04_23_Tsuruoka
_Viola_faurieanaRC
May04_28_Tsuruoka_ForestSceneryRC
May04_28_Tsuruoka
_ForestSceneryRC
May04_24_Tsuruoka_Viola_faurieanaRC
May04_24_Tsuruoka
_Viola_faurieanaRC

  In first and third position in this row are shots of Viola rostrata - notice the incredibly long flower spur. In the center is another shot of the beautiful light green spring forest - this is a Beech (Fagus sp.) and Maple (Acer sp.) forest.
May04_34_Tsuruoka_Viola_rostrataRC
May04_34_Tsuruoka
_Viola_rostrataRC
May04_31_Tsuruoka_ForestSceneryRC
May04_31_Tsuruoka
_ForestSceneryRC
May04_37_Tsuruoka_Viola_rostrataRC
May04_37_Tsuruoka
_Viola_rostrataRC

  In 1st and 3rd position in this row are shots of Viola kusanoana X Viola rostrata, of course a hybrid. In the center is a nice shot of Glaucidium palmatum - something which we see only quite rarely.
May04_44_Tsuruoka_Viola_kusanoana_X_V_rostrataRC
May04_44_Tsuruoka_Viola_
kusanoana_X_V_rostrataRC
May04_41_Tsuruoka_Glaucidium_palmatumRC
May04_41_Tsuruoka_
Glaucidium_palmatumRC
May04_46_Tsuruoka_Viola_kusanoana_X_V_rostrataRC
May04_46_Tsuruoka_Viola_
kusanoana_X_V_rostrataRC

  In 1st and 3rd positions in this row are examples of Asarum megacalyx - wonder how it got that species name (joking). In center position is a Viola rostrata.
May4th_OoyamaParkTsuruoka057_AsarumMegacalyxRC
May4th_OoyamaParkTsuruoka
057_AsarumMegacalyxRC
May04_52_Tsuruoka_Viola_rostrataRC
May04_52_Tsuruoka
_Viola_rostrataRC
May04_54_Tsuruoka_Asarum_spRC
May04_54_Tsuruoka
_Asarum_spRC

  Here is another shot of Glaucidium palmatum, another shot of Viola rostrata and a shot of Viola vaginata.
May04_63_Tsuruoka_Glaucidium_palmatumRC
May04_63_Tsuruoka
_Glaucidium_palmatumRC
May4th_OoyamaParkTsuruoka081_ViolaRostrataRC
May4th_OoyamaParkTsuruoka
081_ViolaRostrataRC
May04_72_Tsuruoka_Viola_vaginataRC
May04_72_Tsuruoka
_Viola_vaginataRC

  Here is an overview shot of Viola rostrata and then a 3 shot panorama of Shimoike (=Lower Pond). Hmmm, we did not see an upper pond. In 3rd position is a shot of a waterfall which we found at a rest stop as we returned from Tsuruoka to Kazuya's home in Funagata later in the day.
May04_79_Tsuruoka_Viola_rostrataRC
May04_79_Tsuruoka
_Viola_rostrataRC
May04_81_82_83_Panorama_Tsuruoka_BigPondRC
May04_81_82_83_Panorama
_Tsuruoka_BigPondRC
May4th_KomeNoKoNoTaki111RC
May4th_KomeNo
KoNoTaki111RC

  These 2 shots were taken from the window of Kazuya's father's car as we returned home over a mountain pass. There's still an abundance of snow at this elevation on May 4th.
May04_88_FromCarWindowRC
May04_88_
FromCarWindowRC
May04_92_FromCarWindowRC
May04_92_
FromCarWindowRC
End May 4th, Begin May 5th
  Now it's May 5th and we decided to hang out around this area today. We'll walk up the highway from Kazuya's house and then follow a small road up to Sabane-yama, where there are many types of wildflowers and a shrine. In this row the first shot is a white colored Anemone pseudoaltaica and that is followed by 2 shots of Erythronium japonicum (Trout Lily).
May05_002_Sabaneyama_Anemone_pseudoaltaicaRC
May05_002_Sabaneyama
_Anemone_pseudoaltaicaRC
May05_011_Sabaneyama_Erythronium_japonicumRC
May05_011_Sabaneyama
_Erythronium_japonicumRC
May05_022_Sabaneyama_Erythronium_japonicumRC
May05_022_Sabaneyama
_Erythronium_japonicumRC

  In this row the photo in 1st position shows a pinkish colored Heloniopsis orientalis - they are generally pinkish, but also come in many different colors. The 2nd shot is a Viola vaginata and the 3rd shot shows another shot of Anemone pseudoaltaica. This is a relatively large patch of the blue flowered type. Every year this patch of blue ones gets larger, and this year was no exception. We took many photos of this large patch of flowers and will show you several of them.
May05_025_Sabaneyama_Heloniopsis_orientalisRC
May05_025_Sabaneyama
_Heloniopsis_orientalisRC
May05_034_Sabaneyama_Viola_vaginataRC
May05_034_Sabaneyama
_Viola_vaginataRC
May5th_Funagata045_AnemonePseudoaltaicaRC
May5th_Funagata045
_AnemonePseudoaltaicaRC

  Last month I showed some photos of a rubbish covered beach, this month I'm showing a photo of a pile of old tires abandoned at the edge of a field. I'm going to try and show at least one photo each month of garbage, litter, trash, rubbish or whatever you want to call it. I hope that somebody somewhere in Japanese government will eventually take note! The 2nd and 3rd shots show a small portion of the patch of blue-colored Anemone pseudoaltaica which we showed you in the 3rd photo of the previous row.
May05_035_Sabaneyama_GarbageRC
May05_035_Sabane
yama_GarbageRC
May5th_Funagata049_AnemonePseudoaltaicaRC
May5th_Funagata049
_AnemonePseudoaltaicaRC
May05_038_Sabaneyama_Anemone_pseudoaltaicaRC
May05_038_Sabaneyama
_Anemone_pseudoaltaicaRC

  Here are 3 more shots taken at that large clump of Anemone pseudoaltaica you saw in 3rd position in Row 12.
May5th_Funagata066_AnemonePseudoaltaicaRC
May5th_Funagata066
_AnemonePseudoaltaicaRC
May05_051_Sabaneyama_Anemone_pseudoaltaicaRC
May05_051_Sabaneyama
_Anemone_pseudoaltaicaRC
May05_062_Sabaneyama_Anemone_pseudoaltaicaRC
May05_062_Sabaneyama
_Anemone_pseudoaltaicaRC

  In this row are 3 shots of Heloniopsis orientalis. The first shot shows a whitish-colored one while the 2nd and 3rd shots show pinkish-colored flowers. As I said above, the pinkish-colored ones are the most common.
May05_064_Sabaneyama_Heloniopsis_orientalisRC
May05_064_Sabaneyama
_Heloniopsis_orientalisRC
May05_065_Sabaneyama_Heloniopsis_orientalisRC
May05_065_Sabaneyama
_Heloniopsis_orientalisRC
May05_074_Sabaneyama_Heloniopsis_orientalisRC
May05_074_Sabaneyama
_Heloniopsis_orientalisRC

  Here are 3 shots of a new plant/flower for us! We had NEVER seen this before. It is Omphalodes krameri - found at Sabane-yama. Kazuya climbed up this steep road-cut to get the first 2 shots and I stayed at the bottom and zoomed in as much as I could for the 3rd shot. As you can easily note, the macro shots are much better than the extremely zoomed-in shot.
May5th_Funagata093_OmphalodesKrameriRC
May5th_Funagata093
_OmphalodesKrameriRC
May5th_Funagata094_OmphalodesKrameriRC
May5th_Funagata094
_OmphalodesKrameriRC
May05_076_Sabaneyama_Omphalodes_spRC
May05_076_Sabaneyama
_Omphalodes_spRC

  Here is a shot of a pure white Heloniopsis orientalis and that's followed by 2 shots of the very long-spurred Viola rostrata. The text under those 2 final shots is an error - it is not necessary to say "var. japonica".
May05_081_Sabaneyama_Heloniopsis_orientalisRC
May05_081_Sabaneyama
_Heloniopsis_orientalisRC
May5th_Funagata110_ViolaRostrataVarJaponicaRC
May5th_Funagata110_
ViolaRostrataVarJaponicaRC
May5th_Funagata111_ViolaRostrataVarJaponicaRC
May5th_Funagata111_
ViolaRostrataVarJaponicaRC

  Every year we come here at about this same date - for the past 5 or 6 years - and every year the spring flowers come later. Last year we found a great abundance of Epigaea asiatica, as shown in the 1st shot, this year it was scarce and just starting to open its flowers. The 2nd and 3rd shots are Magnolia kabus and generally it is finished when we come here on the first weekend of May. This year it was still in very good condition. In past years the Cherry Trees have been in full bloom when we have been here (see last year's index page - a mouseover image - HERE. This year the first cherry blossoms had not even opened yet!
May05_094_Sabaneyama_Epigaea_asiaticaRC
May05_094_Sabaneyama
_Epigaea_asiaticaRC
May05_099_Sabaneyama_Magnolia_kabusRC
May05_099_Sabaneyama
_Magnolia_kabusRC
May05_100_Sabaneyama_Magnolia_kabusRC
May05_100_Sabaneyama
_Magnolia_kabusRC

  Here is a shot of Kazuya shooting a violet - look at all the snow remaining along this abandoned forest road. The 2nd shot shows both a Trout Lily (Erythronium japonicum) and a Viola vaginata. A nice shot.
May05_102_Sabaneyama_SceneryRC
May05_102_Sabane
yama_SceneryRC
May05_103_Sabaneyama_Erythronium_japonicum_Viola_vaginataRC
May05_103_Sabaneyama_Erythronium
_japonicum_Viola_vaginataRC

  Here are the final 2 shots of this weekend in Funagata, Yamagata Prefecture. This is a .... do you know? Let's make it a quiz! You can find the answer by clicking on the photos and reading the lightbox text. As a hint, you have seen it on this page already.
May5th_Funagata152_ViolaViolaceaVarMakinoiRC
May5th_Funagata152
_ViolaViolaceaVarMakinoiRC
May5th_Funagata186_ViolaViolaceaVarMakinoiRC
May5th_Funagata186
_ViolaViolaceaVarMakinoiRC
End May 5th, Begin May 12th
  On Sunday, May 12th, Kazuya went out to Mitake and searched for flowers but I did not go along - basically too lazy. It rained all day Saturday and I thought that the trails would be a muddy mess, but Kazuya told me that they were not so bad at all. In this row are 3 shots of Rhododendron quinquefolium - a 5 leaflet per leaf Rhododendron. It was not so good last year and it is not so good this year too. The weather this year has been so strange that probably nothing knows whether it should bloom or just hold off until a better year comes along!
May12th_MtMitake007_RhododendronQuinquefoliumRC
May12th_MtMitake007_
RhododendronQuinquefoliumRC
May12th_MtMitake016_RhododendronQuinquefoliumRC
May12th_MtMitake016_
RhododendronQuinquefoliumRC
May12th_MtMitake014_RhododendronQuinquefoliumRC
May12th_MtMitake014_
RhododendronQuinquefoliumRC

  Here are 2 beautiful shots of Viola sieboldi f. variegata - in both photos note all of the flowers in the background too! In 3rd position is a seedling of Rhododendron quinquefolium - such a pretty shade of green.
May12th_MtMitake019_ViolaSieboldiFVariegataRC
May12th_MtMitake019_Viola
SieboldiFVariegataRC
May12th_MtMitake023_ViolaSieboldiFVariegataRC
May12th_MtMitake023_Viola
SieboldiFVariegataRC
May12th_MtMitake040_RhododendronQuinquefoliumRC
May12th_MtMitake040_
RhododendronQuinquefoliumRC

  In 1st and 2nd position is a violet species which we have not yet seen this year - Viola shikokiana - and, as you can probably tell, it is just finishing up its flowering. In 3rd position is an example of Schizocodon ilicifolius var. australis.
May12th_MtMitake043_ViolaShikokianaRC
May12th_MtMitake043
_ViolaShikokianaRC
May12th_MtMitake049_ViolaShikokianaRC
May12th_MtMitake049
_ViolaShikokianaRC
May12th_MtMitake054_SchizocodonIlicifoliusVarAustralisRC
May12th_MtMitake054_Schizocodon
IlicifoliusVarAustralisRC

  Here is one more shot of that Schizocodon ilicifolius var. australis and that is followed by some nice trail greenery. In 3rd position is something we always search for in the spring, but very rarely find - it is a Paeonia japonica - a wild Japanese Peony! We found it here 2 years ago and Kazuya was able to find the spot again this year, we still have a chance to see it in bloom - probably next weekend!
May12th_MtMitake060_SchizocodonIlicifoliusVarAustralisRC
May12th_MtMitake060_Schizocodon
IlicifoliusVarAustralisRC
May12th_MtMitake062RC
May12th_Mt
Mitake062RC
May12th_MtMitake064_PaeoniaJaponicaRC
May12th_MtMitake064
_PaeoniaJaponicaRC

  Here are 2 more shots of that clump of Paeonia japonica and then a scenic shot from Mt. Mitake. And - that's all from May 12th.
May12th_MtMitake071_PaeoniaJaponicaRC
May12th_MtMitake071
_PaeoniaJaponicaRC
May12th_MtMitake094_PaeoniaJaponicaRC
May12th_MtMitake094
_PaeoniaJaponicaRC
May12th_MtMitake098RC
May12th_Mt
Mitake098RC
End May 12th, End Page 1
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