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posted: April 30th, 2013 |
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This page actually begins with March 29th and a trip to Musashino Park for our annual "Hanami" - Cherry Blossom viewing and lunch with a high quality Saké under the Cherry Trees. Then we proceed to March 31st and a trip to Jindai Botanical Garden to view the Cherry Blossoms at night, by the lights. Next, we hiked up the Hikage Creek Road on April 5th to the summit of Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-Yama and also hiked out to Mt. Kagenobu and then down the Kogesawa (=Koge Creek) trail and all the way to Takao Station. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
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| Begin March 29th |
On the weekend of March 29, 30 and 31 Kazuya had a bad cold, so we did not go to any mountains to search for violets. On Friday, March 29th we took a bicycle ride through the international Christian University (ICU) Campus to see the Cherry Blossoms. The first photo in this row was taken as we were preparing to leave the house - a small piece of our Porch Garden. In this single flower pot you can see Viola japonica in bloom, Strawberry leaves and a very tiny Mountain Pepper (Zanthoxylum piperitum) tree. In 2nd and 3rd positions you can see the Cherry Blossoms on the ICU Campus.
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 March29th_ HomeGarden002RC |
 March29th _ICU004RC |
 March29th _ICU005RC |
This row is still on the ICU campus. In first position is a very large patch of Viola grypoceras. In 2nd position is another shot of Cherry Blossoms and in 3rd position is a Gentiana zollingeri in bloom.
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 Mar29_01_ICU_ Viola_grypocerasRC |
 Mar29_04_ICU_ CherryBlossomsRC |
 March29th _ICU008RC |
Here is another shot of Gentiana zollingeri and that's followed by 2 shots of Cherry Blossoms.
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 Mar29_10Fix_ICU_ Gentiana_zollingeriRC |
 Mar29_12_ICU _CherryBlossomsRC |
 Mar29_13_ICU _CherryBlossomsRC |
In this row are 3 shots, increasingly zoomed-in, looking towards the highway, down the entry street to ICU.
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 Mar29_16_ICU_ CherryBlossomsRC |
 Mar29_17_ICU_ CherryBlossomsRC |
 Mar29_18_ICU_ CherryBlossomsRC |
In 1st position in this row is the final increasingly zoomed-in shot looking towards the highway, down the main entry street to ICU. In 2nd position is me on my bicycle, riding under the Cherry Trees. In 3rd position, we have moved to Musashino Park. It's not a great weather day, but it's warm enough to be considered a nice day. We ate our lunch and drank our Kami-No-Itazura Saké under that cluster of Cherry Trees. Kami-No-Itazura means God's Trick; it is a very wonderful tasting Saké and we buy a couple bottles of it every couple of years. In other words, a bottle lasts for about a year.
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 Mar29_19_ICU_ CherryBlossomsRC |
 March29th _ICU028RC |
 Mar29_23_MusashinoPk_Cherry Blossoms_LunchSpotRC |
As we bicycled around in Musashino Park we saw a River Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) and followed it around as it flitted from the No River to this small pond. We were nicely rewarded for our efforts as it sat on this post for a long time and even dove into the pond for a fish and then returned to the same post. In the 2nd shot note the fish in its mouth!! In the 3rd shot it has just barely finished getting the fish down its gullet, and that is why its mouth is still a little bit open.
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 Mar29_25_MusashinoPk_ Kingfisher_Alcedo_atthisRC |
 March29th_ MusashinoPark053RC |
 Mar29_47_MusashinoPk_ Kingfisher_Alcedo_atthisRC |
Here are 2 final shots of that River Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) and a cloudy day shot of a beautiful Forsythia sp. bush.
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 Mar29_27_MusashinoPk_ Kingfisher_Alcedo_atthisRC |
 Mar29_32_MusashinoPk_ Kingfisher_Alcedo_atthisRC |
 Mar29_61_Musashino Pk_ForsythiaRC |
In first position here is a Willow Tree (Salix sp.) which is budding out. In 2nd and 3rd positions are 2 more shots of that cluster of cherry trees where we ate our lunch.
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 Mar29_64_Musashino Pk_WillowRC |
 March29th_ MusashinoPark069RC |
 Mar29_68_MusashinoPk_Cherry Blossoms_LunchSpotRC |
| End March 29th, Begin March 31st |
On the evening/night of March 31st we went to Jindai Botanical Garden to see the Cherry Trees under the lights. Jindai Botanical Garden advertises this event on their website and Kazuya happened to see it there, so we went out on this cloudy day to see it. Well, it's good that we have annual passes to enter this place otherwise we would have felt very ripped-off. They have very few lights, they are not well placed and the color temperature of the lights is not so great for photography. In the first 2 shots in this row it is not yet dark, so the shots are not too bad. In the 3rd shot a flash was used to get it this bright.
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 March31st_ JindaiBG002RC |
 Mar31_04_JindaiBG _Hanami_LightsRC |
 March31st_ JindaiBG005RC |
A flash was used for the first 2 shots in this row of a Flowering Peach Tree. In the 3rd shot you can see how narrow of a beam the park Gardens lights throw - so disappointing. Yeah, it's good that we didn't pay for this entry to here!
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 March31st_ JindaiBG010RC |
 Mar31_16_JindaiBG _Hanami_LightsRC |
 Mar31_20_JindaiBG _Hanami_LightsRC |
Here is Kazuya looking bored. The 2nd image is a 3 shot panorama of a cluster of Cherry Trees. Exposure has been adjusted with Photoshop. And, then as we bicycled home it started raining on us, so by the time we got back to our apartment, we were fairly cold and wet. Not a great outing!
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 Mar31_26_JindaiBG _Hanami_LightsRC |
 Mar31_30_31_32_Panorama _JindaiBG_Hanami_LightsRC |
| End March 31st, Begin April 5th |
On April 5th Kazuya and I went out to Takao, took a bus to Hikage Creek and hiked up the Hikage Creek Road to the summit of Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-Yama (for the 39th time). We ate part of our lunch at the summit of Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-Yama (670 m = 2,199 ft) and then hiked the trail to Mt. Kagenobu (727 m = 2,385 ft) and summited that mountain for the 10th time. Then we hiked down the Kogesawa (=Koge Creek) trail and down to the bus stop, but it was nearly an hour's wait for the next bus, so we hiked the riverside trail all the way to Takao Station. Of course we were in search of spring flowers. In this row you can find photos of the Takao Violet (Viola yezoensis f. discolor) and a species of Arisaema (Jack-in-the-Pulpit).
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 Apr05_011_Hikage_Viola _yezoensis_f_discolorRC |
 April5th_Hikage008_Viola YezoensisFDiscolorRC |
 Apr05_017_Hikage _Arisaema_spRC |
In this row are 3 photos of the Takao Violet (Viola yezoensis f. discolor). The center photo is an overview of the environment.
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 April5th_Hikage011_Viola YezoensisFDiscolorRC |
 Apr05_024_Hikage_Viola _yezoensis_f_discolorRC |
 April5th_Hikage012_Viola YezoensisFDiscolorRC |
In this row the 1st photo is a strangely pink-colored Viola keiskei. We find this pink-colored one in this approximate location every year. It is the only place we ever see a pink-colored one. Viola keiskei is normally pure white. In center position is a nicely lit example of Asarum caulescens and in 3rd position is a shot of a Chrysosplenium macrostemon var. atrandrum.
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 Apr05_036_Hikage_ Viola_keiskeiRC |
 April5th_Hikage025_ AsarumCaulescensRC |
 Apr05_044_Hikage_Chrysosplenium _macrostemon_var_atrandrumRC |
Here are 2 more nice shots of Asarum caulescens and sandwiched between them is a shot of Viola bissetii. The center photo is out of chronological order for portrait mode and landscape mode balance.
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 Apr05_047_Hikage_ Asarum_caulescensRC |
 April5th_Hikage031 _ViolaBissetiiRC |
 Apr05_049_Hikage_ Asarum_caulescensRC |
In 1st position in this row is an example of Oxalis griffithii var. kantoensis. In 2nd and 3rd positions are shots of an early blooming Mountain Cherry Tree.
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 Apr05_054_Hikage_Oxalis_ griffithii_var_kantoensisRC |
 April5th_Hikage051 _CherryRC |
 April5th_Hikage047 _CherryRC |
Here are 2 nice shots of Viola obtusa in 1st and 2nd position. In 3rd position is a nice Viola eizanensis.
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 Apr05_073_Hikage_ Viola_obtusaRC |
 Apr05_076_Hikage_ Viola_obtusaRC |
 April5th_Hikage060_ ViolaEizanensisRC |
In 1st position is another nice shot of Viola eizanensis. In 2nd and 3rd position are shots of Viola phalacrocarpa f. glaberrima.
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 April5th_Hikage061_ ViolaEizanensisRC |
 April5th_ Hikage069RC |
 April5th_ Hikage070RC |
Here are 2 beautiful examples of Viola obtusa and then a Scenery Image from a clear-cut along the trail to Mt. Kagenobu. This image was created from 3 exposure-bracketed shots which were Tone-mapped using the Tone-Compressor Option of Photomatix Pro.
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 April5th_Hikage082 _ViolaObtusaRC |
 April5th_Hikage081 _ViolaObtusaRC |
 Apr05_102_103_103_TMTC _Kagenobu_SceneryRC |
The 1st image in this row was created from 3 exposure-bracketed shots which were Tone-mapped using the Details-Enhancer Option of Photomatix Pro. Those 3 photos were also taken from a clear-cut along the trail from Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-Yama to Mt. Kagenobu. The 2nd shot shows a Cymbidium goeringii - an Orchid. The 3rd shot shows a nice group or cluster of Viola grypoceras.
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 Apr05_105_106_107_TMDE _Kagenobu_SceneryRC |
 Apr05_109_Kagenobu_ Cymbidium_goeringiiRC |
 April5th_MtKagenobu115 _ViolaGrypocerasRC |
The first 2 shots in this row show a nearly red-colored Viola eizanensis. This was found just a ways below the summit of Mt. Kagenobu. It was the reddest example of Viola eizanensis which we have ever seen. The 3rd shot was taken from the summit of Mt. Kagenobu. The mountain with the tower on it, to the left of center, is Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-Yama. We hiked more or less along that ridge between there and here.
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 April5th_MtKagenobu119 _ViolaEizanensisRC |
 Apr05_113_Kagenobu _Viola_eizanensisRC |
 Apr05_119_ Kagenobu_SceneryRC |
Now we are descending from Mt. Kagenobu to the Kogesawa Trail and we found a single example of Viola rossii - shown in the first 2 shots. The 3rd shot is an amazingly white example of Viola eizanensis.
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 Apr05_130_Kagenobu _Viola_rossiiRC |
 April5th_MtKagenobu 127_ViolaRossiiRC |
 Apr05_131_Kagenobu_ Viola_eizanensisRC |
Note that we are now hiking down along Kogesawa (=Koge Creek). In 1st position in this row is an example of Viola tokubuchiana var. takedana. In center position is a group of Anemone flaccida and in 3rd position is another Viola eizanensis.
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 Apr05_135_Kogesawa_Viola_ tokubuchiana_var_takedanaRC |
 Apr05_138_Kogesawa_ Anemone_flaccidaRC |
 April5th_Kogesawa142_ ViolaEizanensisRC |
In 1st position in this row is a shot of Chrysosplenium album var. stamineum and you can also see an Oxalis griffithii var. kantoensis growing there. In 2nd and 3rd position are shots of Viola grypoceras f. variegata, not so common to see. Of course the "variegation" is the red veins in the leaves.
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 April5th_Kogesawa145_ ChrysospleniumAlbumVarStamineumRC |
 April5th_Kogesawa154_ ViolaGrypocerasFVariegataRC |
 April5th_Kogesawa155_ ViolaGrypocerasFVariegataRC |
In 1st position in this row is another shot of Viola eizanensis. That is followed by a shot of Omphalodes japonica - there were more growing here than we had ever seen before. In 3rd position is another example of a pinkish-colored Viola eizanensis.
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 April5th_Kogesawa156_ ViolaEizanensisRC |
 April5th_Kogesawa171 _OmphalodesJaponicaRC |
 Apr05_150_Kogesawa_ Viola_eizanensisRC |
| End Page 1, but April 5th 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 and conclusion of this April 5th adventure and for the continuation of this month's adventures. |
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