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posted: April 30th, 2011 |
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This page continues April 15th, our trip to Niigata Prefecture and climb of Mt. Kakuda (482 meters = 1,580 feet). We finish that with Row 8 and then Row 9 takes us to Western Tokyo and some mountains there on April 17th. This page ends at the end of that day. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
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| April 15th Continues from Page 2 |
Here we continue our climb of Mt. Kakuda. We did not see any more Hepatica until we descended the other side of the mountain. There we saw them down by the Shrine, where the monks had planted them, as mentioned in the Row 19 text on the previous page. From here on we saw the most amazing number of Trout Lily (Erythronium japonicum) flowers that can be imagined. Here is a Trout Lily single flower, a shot of the lighthouse and beach and a shot of me with my hat pulled down because the sun was so bright. This day actually became warm enough so that we stripped down to our T-shirts after a while (see Row 4).
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 Apr15_MtKakuda_132_ Erythronium_japonicumRC |
 Apr15_MtKakuda_134 _Lighthouse_OceanRC |
 April15th_MtKakuda 198_DanielRC |
Can you see the incredible number of Trout Lily flowers in these 3 shots. In the first shot you can see the trail. The trail is lined on both sides with Trout Lilies.
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 April15th_MtKakuda206 _Erythronium_japonicumRC |
 Apr15_MtKakuda_152_ Erythronium_japonicumRC |
 April15th_MtKakuda213 _Erythronium_japonicumRC |
Trout Lilies beyond belief!!!
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 Apr15_MtKakuda_155 _Erythronium_japonicumRC |
 Apr15_MtKakuda_158 _Erythronium_japonicumRC |
 Apr15_MtKakuda_172 _Erythronium_japonicumRC |
Trout Lilies mixed in with Anemone raddeana, Kazuya looking pleased with himself for suggesting that we come to this place this weekend and more Trout Lilies.
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 Apr15_MtKakuda_174 _Erythronium_japonicumRC |
 Apr15_MtKakuda _179_KazuyaRC |
 Apr15_MtKakuda_183 _Erythronium_japonicumRC |
Out of all of these thousands of Trout Lilies we saw only 2 white flowered ones. This one was close enough to get a shot of, the 2nd one was too far away to photograph. The 2nd shot shows Trout Lily (Erythronium japonicum and Viola vaginata.
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 Apr15_MtKakuda_189_ Erythronium_japonicum_WhiteRC |
 April15th_MtKakuda238_ Erythronium_japonicumRC |
 Apr15_MtKakuda_192_ Erythronium_japonicumRC |
Trout Lily and even more Trout Lily!
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 Apr15_MtKakuda_195 _Erythronium_japonicumRC |
 April15th_MtKakuda255 _Erythronium_japonicumRC |
 April15th_MtKakuda262 _Erythronium_japonicumRC |
Here is some Heloniopsis orientalis mixed in with the Erythronium japonicum. The 3rd shot is an Anemone raddeana mixed in with the Trout Lily.
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 Apr15_MtKakuda_208_ Heloniopsis_orientalisRC |
 April15th_MtKakuda271 Heloniopsis_orientalisRC |
 Apr15_MtKakuda_211 _Anemone_raddeanaRC |
Here is a final Trout Lily (Erythronium japonicum) shot. The 2nd shot is a scenery shot from the summit and the 3rd shot is the summit sign of Mt. Kakuda.
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 Apr15_MtKakuda_221 _Erythronium_japonicumRC |
 April15th_MtKakuda 300_SceneryRC |
 Apr15_MtKakuda_223 _SummitSignRC |
| End April 15th, Begin April 17th |
On April 17th Kazuya and I headed west - in our normal stomping ground, but to a place where we only go once or maybe twice a year. The exact location will not be given here because of the plant thieves who may look at these pages. From the titles of the photos you may surmise that we were somewhere in the vicinity of a place called "Takamizu" - don't believe everything you read on the internet! The 1st and 3rd photos show nice examples of Viola tokubuchiana var. takedana and the 2nd photo shows a portion of the trail which we were on.
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 Apr17_Takamizu_013_Viola _tokubuchiana_var_takedanaRC |
 Apr17_Takamizu_ 004_TrailRC |
 Apr17_Takamizu_016_Viola _tokubuchiana_var_takedanaRC |
In 1st position in this row is a very delicately colored Viola tokubuchiana var. takedana and then 2 specimens of Shortia uniflora. This is the plant, which you may recall from previous year descriptions, only grows on steep rocky slopes, so it's dangerous to get to it for photos.
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 Apr17_Takamizu_025_Viola _tokubuchiana_var_takedanaRC |
 Apr17_Takamizu_033 _Shortia_unifloraRC |
 April17th_ Takamizu3Mts_026RC |
Here is a nice shot of a Mountain Azalea bush with some beautiful flowers on it. The 2nd photo is a Viola rossii (rossi) - a very beautiful example. The 3rd shot is a 2 photo panorama from one of the summits which we were on.
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 April17th_ Takamizu3Mts_039RC |
 Apr17_Takamizu_ 042_Viola_rossiiRC |
 Apr17_Takamizu_046_ 047_Panorama_SceneryRC |
The first shot here is zoomed in to a smaller area to show the hardwood trees. The 2nd and 3rd shots are additional examples of Viola rossii (rossi).
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 Apr17_Takamizu _049_SceneryRC |
 Apr17_Takamizu _051_Viola_rossiiRC |
 Apr17_Takamizu _056_Viola_rossiiRC |
There is a shrine on the side of this mountain and it has some nice Mountain Azalea bushes growing around it. These 3 photos were taken at and near the shrine.
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 Apr17_Takamizu _062_AzaleaRC |
 Apr17_Takamizu_ 066_Shrine_AzaleaRC |
 Apr17_Takamizu_ 071_Shrine_AzaleaRC |
In 1st position in this row is an intriguing shot of some young maple leaves. In 2nd position is an Oxalis griffithii var. kantoensis plant in bloom and in 3rd position is a beautiful Viola eizanensis.
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 April17th_ Takamizu3Mts_062RC |
 Apr17_Takamizu_076 _Oxalis_griffithiiRC |
 Apr17_Takamizu_079 _Viola_eizanensisRC |
Here is another example of Viola eizanensis in first position. In second position is a nice patch of Oxalis griffithii var. kantoensis and in third position is an example of Viola violacea var. makinoi.
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 Apr17_Takamizu_080 _Viola_eizanensisRC |
 April17th_ Takamizu3Mts_074RC |
 Apr17_Takamizu_088_Viola _violacea_var_makinoiRC |
Here is another specimen of Viola violacea var. makinoi in first position. In second place is a shot of a clearcut. The amazing thing about this is that we cannot understand why they do this - nobody will take any of this wood anywhere - it will be left to rot. If that's the case, why spend the money to cut the forest down?! We have seen this happen so many places. Why does the Japanese public allow it?! Why does the government do it? Why isn't the lumber utilized? Why leave the few standing trees which you can see here? You can probably think of additional questions which could be asked. The 3rd shot is a different shrine than the one shown in Row 13 - some nice cherry trees around this one. Too bad that they didn't put the power cables underground.
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 Apr17_Takamizu_092_Viola _violacea_var_makinoiRC |
 Apr17_Takamizu_ 095_ClearcutRC |
 Apr17_Takamizu_ 096_ShrineRC |
Here is a small portion of the shrine shown in Row 16. This portion is not visible in the previous photo. The 2nd image - are you aware that 2:46: Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake, which I referred to last month on Page 2, is now available in Amazon Kindle format? All revenue from the purchase of this book will be used to help the earthquake victims through the American Red Cross. CLICK HERE (new window) to purchase directly from Amazon.com (new window).
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 April17th_Takamizu 3Mts_084RC |
 Japan Quakebook |
| End April 17th, End Page 3 |
| Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Please continue on to page 4 for the conclusion of April! |
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