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posted: April 30th, 2013 |
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This page begins with April 14th and the continuation of our trip of that weekend. We went to Kakizaki Beach in search of a new violet for us.
We were amply rewarded for our efforts and found 2 new violets for us! The next adventure after that was on April 19th - a trip to Western Tokyo to search for violets. Following that is a trip to the Kawaguchi Lake Area of Yamanashi Prefecture, and a climb of Mt. Kurotake (1,793 m = 5,882 ft) in search of Violets and other spring flowers and beautiful scenery. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
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| Begin April 14th |
Okay, from our hotel in Niigata City we took trains on Sunday morning, April 14th, to the Sea of Japan and got off at Kakizaki Station, which you can see in the first photo in this row. From there we walked to Kakizaki Beach in search of a violet we had never before seen - Viola grayi. For a while we thought that we would not find it, but then we started finding a few of them and after we learned how and precisely where to look for them, we found lots of them. The 2nd and 3rd photos here show the flowers of this violet. In the center photo you can see the Sea of Japan in the background.
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 Apr14_01_Kakizaki Beach_StationRC |
 Apr14_02_Kakizaki Beach_Viola_grayiRC |
 April14th_Kakizaki 026_ViolaGrayiRC |
Here are 3 more examples of Viola grayi. As this was a new violet for us, you can expect to see several photos of it. The first photo shows several flowers on a single plant. The center photo shows the flower spur and the reverse side of the flower and the 3rd photo shows another plant with several flowers on it.
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 April14th_Kakizaki 032_ViolaGrayiRC |
 April14th_Kakizaki 036_ViolaGrayiRC |
 April14th_Kakizaki 040_ViolaGrayiRC |
Here are 3 more examples of Viola grayi.
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 Apr14_13_Kakizaki Beach_Viola_grayiRC |
 Apr14_15_Kakizaki Beach_Viola_grayiRC |
 Apr14_17_Kakizaki Beach_Viola_grayiRC |
The 1st photo in this row shows a beautiful flower, the 2nd photo shows a plant and the 3rd photo shows the beach where we found this species. That's me kneeling down to take a photo.
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 Apr14_19_Kakizaki Beach_Viola_grayiRC |
 April14th_Kakizaki 058_ViolaGrayiRC |
 April14th_ Kakizaki059RC |
Here is another photo of the flower - notice that this is one of the few species of plants growing here. There are beach grasses and beach lettuce and not too much else. The 2nd photo was put in here to show the amount of garbage on this beach. This entire area looked like this - abandoned Styrofoam and pet bottles, rope chunks and other junk lost or tossed over the side of fishing boats probably. The 3rd photo shows an entire plant - half buried in the blowing sand.
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 Apr14_29_Kakizaki Beach_Viola_grayiRC |
 Apr14_34_Kakizaki Beach_GarbageRC |
 Apr14_35_Kakizaki Beach_Viola_grayiRC |
These 3 photos were included expressly to show the amount of garbage on this beach. Are there beaches which are so very garbage filled in your country? I, personally, would be embarrassed to show this beach to people if this was my home country. The person in all 3 photos is Kazuya. If you have an inclination to do so, please e-mail me from the link at the bottom of the page and let me know the condition of beaches in your country. Again, this is Kakizaki Beach at Kakizaki, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. I worked on a fishing boat in Alaska in the 1970's and even that many years ago, we were not allowed to throw anything over the side except actual leftover food from our meals. All Coca-Cola Bottles, plastic bags, etc. (all in-organic materials) were kept on board and taken back to the marina for proper disposal.
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 Apr14_37_KakizakiBeach _Garbage_KazuyaRC |
 Apr14_38_KakizakiBeach _Garbage_KazuyaRC |
 Apr14_39_KakizakiBeach _Garbage_KazuyaRC |
Here is a beautiful Viola grayi flower in 1st position. In 2nd position is another polluted beach shot, with Kazuya walking along looking for violets. In 3rd position is a shot which shows you the flower spur.
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 Apr14_47_Kakizaki Beach_Viola_grayiRC |
 Apr14_50_Kakizaki Beach_KazuyaRC |
 April14th_Kakizaki 076_ViolaGrayiRC |
Now, we have unexpectedly run across another violet which is new to us. It is Viola mandshurica var. crassa. It occupies the 1st and 2nd positions in this row. We did not find so many of this species and it seemed that we were a bit early to find this at its peak as we eventually found several plants with buds. In 3rd position is another example of Viola grayi.
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 Apr14_60_KakizakiBeach_Viola _mandshurica_var_crassaRC |
 Apr14_63_KakizakiBeach_Viola _mandshurica_var_crassaRC |
 April14th_Kakizaki 098_ViolaGrayiRC |
Here are 2 shots of Viola grayi, the second one showing the surf pounding in the background. The 3rd shot is another Viola mandshurica var. crassa.
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 Apr14_72_Kakizaki Beach_Viola_grayiRC |
 April14th_Kakizaki 119_ViolaGrayiRC |
 April14th_Kakizaki138_Viola MandshuricaVarCrassaRC |
These 3 final shots from this outing are all Viola mandshurica var. crassa. Note the buds on the plant in 3rd position. I can see at least 5 of them!
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 Apr14_80_KakizakiBeach_Viola _mandshurica_var_crassaRC |
 Apr14_83_KakizakiBeach_Viola _mandshurica_var_crassaRC |
 April14th_Kakizaki154_Viola MandshuricaVarCrassaRC |
| End April 14th, Begin April 19th |
On April 19th we went out to Western Tokyo and started to climb one mountain, in search of spring violets, but it was disappointing - very few violets - so we went back down and went to climb another mountain. I was not feeling very great, so I went home and Kazuya climbed that mountain, with good success. In this row you'll see 2 examples of Viola rossii taken while we were climbing the first mountain and then a rare Viola grypoceras f. albiflora which Kazuya found on the 2nd mountain.
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 Apr19_2_MtHonita_ Viola_rossiiRC |
 Apr19_7_MtHonita_ Viola_rossiiRC |
 April19th_MtSougaku061_ ViolaGrypocerasFAlbifloraRC |
Here are 3 more examples of the Viola grypoceras f. albiflora. The center photo is a crop of the 3rd photo, to show you that a distinctive feature of this violet is the fine hairs on the flower stem.
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 April19th_MtSougaku062_ ViolaGrypocerasFAlbifloraRC |
 April19th_MtSougaku063Crop _ViolaGrypocerasFAlbiflora |
 April19th_MtSougaku063_ ViolaGrypocerasFAlbifloraRC |
In this row are 2 shots of Viola violacea var. makinoi, and in center position is a Viola sieboldi.
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 April19th_MtSougaku070_ ViolaViolaceaVarMakinoiRC |
 April19th_MtSougaku 082_ViolaSieboldiRC |
 April19th_MtSougaku073_ ViolaViolaceaVarMakinoiRC |
In 1st and 2nd position are 2 more shots of Viola sieboldi and in 3rd position is a Viola tokubuchiana var. takedana.
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 April19th_MtSougaku 083_ViolaSieboldiRC |
 April19th_MtSougaku 089_ViolaSieboldiRC |
 April19th_MtSougaku108_ ViolaTokubuchianaVarTakedanaRC |
Here is the final row from this date. In first position is a shot of a Viola violacea var. makinoi, in which you should note a lack of hairs in the center of the flower. In center position is Viola X pseudo-makinoi f. concolor, a rare hybrid of Viola violacea var. makinoi and Viola sieboldi - note the hairs in the center of the flower. In 3rd position is another shot of the Viola X pseudo-makinoi f. concolor.
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 April19th_MtSougaku122_ ViolaViolaceaVarMakinoiRC |
 April19th_MtSougaku138_Viola XPseudo-makinoiFConcolorRC |
 April19th_MtSougaku139_Viola XPseudo-makinoiFConcolorRC |
| End April 19th, Begin April 26th |
On April 26th we again got up early - 3:30 AM - and headed off for some adventuring! We took trains to Kawaguchi Lake, Yamanashi Prefecture, and then took a bus to the "Mt. Mitsutouge Entry" bus stop and climbed up the Misaka Pass trail to Mt. Kurotake (1,793 m = 5,882 ft), ate our lunch which we took with us, and then continued on to Mt. Hafu (1,674 m = 5,492 ft). We then hiked to Ooishi (Big Rock) Trail Junction and descended via that course. We took a bus to Kofu and stayed there on this night.
In this row, in first position is a photo showing Viola keiskei & Viola grypoceras in the same shot. In 2nd position is a shot of 2 beautiful Viola rossii flowers. In 3rd position is a Viola grypoceras f. pubescens - a new 'forma' for us. Note the hairy (pubescent) flower stem, from which it gets it's Latin 'forma' name. |
 Apr26_002_Kawaguchi_Viola _keiskei_V_grypoceras_RC |
 Apr26_026_Kawaguchi _Viola_rossii_RC |
 April26th_MtKurotake014 Crop_ViolaGrypoceras_RC |
In first position in this row is Viola grypoceras f. rosipetala - another new 'forma' for us! Usually Viola grypoceras is bluish/purplish but, as you can see, this one has rosy petals! In 2nd position is a scenery shot along the trail - note that not very much is growing on the ground yet. In 3rd position is a Viola variegata var. nipponica - a species of violet which we have only seen one time before this - and in this same location.
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 Apr26_030_Kawaguchi _PinkViola_grypoceras_RC |
 Apr26_036_Kawaguchi _TrailScenery_RC |
 Apr26_040_Kawaguchi_Viola _variegata_var_nipponica_RC |
Click the above button for a Special Page dedicated to most of the Violets which we have identified with confidence. |
In this row are 3 shots of Viola variegata var. nipponica. Because we see this species so rarely, we took many photos of it. We have attempted to limit the number we will show you though!
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 Apr26_045_Kawaguchi_Viola_ variegata_var_nipponica_RC |
 Apr26_056_Kawaguchi_Viola_ variegata_var_nipponica_RC |
 Apr26_057_Kawaguchi_Viola_ variegata_var_nipponica_RC |
In this row are the final 3 shots of Viola variegata var. nipponica. Enjoy them, you probably won't see any more photos of this species for a couple of years, unless we are extremely fortunate.
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 Apr26_058_Kawaguchi_Viola_ variegata_var_nipponica_RC |
 Apr26_060_Kawaguchi_Viola_ variegata_var_nipponica_RC |
 April26th_MtKurotake051 _ViolaVariegataVarNipponica_RC |
All 3 shots in this row show examples of Erythronium japonicum - Trout Lily. These shots came out extremely nice.
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 Apr26_066_Kawaguchi_ Erythronium_japonicum_RC |
 Apr26_070_Kawaguchi_ Erythronium_japonicum_RC |
 Apr26_075_Kawaguchi_ Erythronium_japonicum_RC |
Here are 3 shots of Viola yazawana. We saw more of this species on this date than we have seen previously - even if you count every time we have ever seen it! We were extremely fortunate. This is a very tiny flowered species, as you can see in the 3rd shot, where there is a toothpick for scale.
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 Apr26_091_Kawaguchi_ Viola_yazawana_RC |
 Apr26_094_Kawaguchi_ Viola_yazawana_RC |
 Apr26_102_Kawaguchi_ Viola_yazawana_RC |
Here are the final 2 shots of Viola yazawana. You may not see any more photos of this species here for another couple of years either - again, only if we are extremely fortunate. The 3rd shot is a yellow colored Viola orientalis, the common color of this species.
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 Apr26_107_Kawaguchi_ Viola_yazawana_RC |
 April26th_MtKurotake 137_ViolaYazawana_RC |
 Apr26_118_Kawaguchi_ Viola_orientalis_RC |
In first position in this row is another yellow colored violet - Viola orientalis. In 2nd position is a shot of Kazuya on the trail. This trail goes down so steeply and quickly that after we had already gone past many switchbacks we questioned "wonder how many switchbacks this trail has altogether?" At that point we started counting and there were 17 more switchbacks! In 3rd position is a shot showing a Viola orientalis and a Viola grypoceras in the same shot.
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 Apr26_120_Kawaguchi_ Viola_orientalis_RC |
 Apr26_122_Kawaguchi _KazuyaOnTrail_RC |
 Apr26_128_Kawaguchi_Viola _orientalis_V_grypoceras_RC |
The final 2 shots from this adventure. As we hiked down the final stretch of the trail, which follows a road and a bunch of fields, we saw this Japanese Pheasant (aka Green Pheasant) - Phasianus versicolor - sitting there posing for us! Thank you!
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 Apr26_133_Kawaguchi _Oishi_Pheasant_RC |
 Apr26_137_Kawaguchi _Oishi_Pheasant_RC |
| End April 26th, 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 this month's adventures and photos! |
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