posted: October 31st, 2010 |
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This page begins with October 16th, a trip to and climb of Mt. Takao and Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro, followed by a descent down Hikage Creek.
On October 22nd and 23rd we went to the Hakone Area to see how the Autumn Colors were progressing. This page takes you part way through the 22nd. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
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Begin October 16th |
  On Saturday, October 16th, Kazuya and I went out to Takao and climbed Mt. Takao. The last time we climbed Mt. Takao was on June 25th, so it was not as hot this time, and the fall colors were just barely starting to be in evidence in a few places. The first shot in this row is Rabdosia effusa - a flower which we have probably seen before, but which we could never recall taking photos of. So, here is a photo of it. The 2nd shot is a poisonous berry, an Ampelopsis glandulosa var. heterophylla. The 3rd shot is some very small mushroom - picturesque in its own special way. |
Oct16th_MtTakao004 _RabdosiaEffusa_RC |
Oct16th_MtTakao005_Ampelopsis GlandulosaVarHeterophylla_RC |
Oct16_04_MtTakao _TinyMushroom_RC |
  The first shot in this row is a Cimicifuga simplex - what we generally call "the bottle brush flower". The 2nd shot is some kind of Thistle - probably Cirsium oligophyllum. The final shot here is a wild yellow chrysanthemum. |
Oct16_08_MtTakao _BottleBrushFlower_RC |
Oct16th_MtTakao008 _CirsiumOligophyllum_RC |
Oct16_18_MtTakao _YellowMum_RC |
  The first and 2nd photos in this row are Keiskea japonica - The plant which has frost flowers later in the season. If you've never been to this website before and want to know what frost flowers are, then please click HERE (will open in new window) to see some photos taken in December 2009 of frost flowers. The 3rd photo is a Thistle - probably Cirsium oligophyllum - and a Hover Fly. |
Oct16_25_MtTakao _Shimobashira_RC |
Oct16th_MtTakao018 _KeiskeaJaponica_RC |
Oct16_27_MtTakao _Thistle_RC |
  Here is one more shot of that Thistle - probably Cirsium oligophyllum - and the Hover Fly. The 2nd shot shows you some faint fall colors in a scenic shot along the trail between the summit of Mt. Takao and I-Ccho-Daira (Plateau). You can also see some Susuki Grass (Miscanthus sinensis) here. The 3rd shot was taken specifically for the Susuki Grass (Miscanthus sinensis). |
Oct16_30_MtTakao _Thistle_RC |
Oct16th_Mt Takao021_RC |
Oct16_38_MtTakao _SusukiGrass_RC |
  Here are 2 more shots along the trail between the summit of Mt. Takao and I-Ccho-Daira and more Susuki Grass or Miscanthus sinensis. The 3rd shot shows the red berries of Viburnum dilatatum. |
Oct16th_MtTakao024_ MiscanthusSinensis_RC |
Oct16_49_MtTakao _SusukiGrass_RC |
Oct16_50_MtTakao_ RedBerry_RC |
  Upon reaching the summit of Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro we ate our lunch, which we took with us, and we ate a bowl of hot "slippery mushroom" soup. There is a mountain top "restaurant" there. It is nothing fancy at all, they have coffee and other drinks and a couple kinds of soup and that's about it. You buy it, they give it to you on a tray and you go find a place to sit down and eat it - there is no indoor seating. Then we started hiking down the Hikage Creek Road to a bus stop at the bottom of the mountain. We saw an older couple taking photos of this amazingly red fungus, so after they moved on we took photos of it too. Later on we saw this patch of tiny white mushrooms which you see in the 2nd and 3rd shots in this row. |
Oct16_56SIP_Hikage Creek_RedFungus_RC |
Oct16_60_HikageCreek _TinyMushroom_RC |
Oct16_62_HikageCreek _TinyMushroom_RC |
  Along the moist areas of Hikage Creek we also saw numerous specimens of Impatiens textorii. The first shot in this row is looking into the throat of the flower. The 2nd shot is a side shot of the flower - don't you love the curly tail? |
Oct16_64_Hikage Creek_Impatiens_RC |
Oct16_65_Hikage Creek_Impatiens_RC |
  Here are 2 final examples of Impatiens textorii - one showing the curly tail and another one - in the sun - looking right down its throat. And, that ends our outing of October 16th. |
Oct16_75_Hikage Creek_Impatiens_RC |
Oct16_80_Hikage Creek_Impatiens_RC |
End October 16th, Begin October 22nd |
  On October 22nd Kazuya and I headed off to the Hakone Area. We took trains from Komae Station to Hakone Yumoto Station, then a Mountain Railway from there to Gora Station, a Cable-car from Gora to Sounzan and then a Ropeway to Owakudani. We spent some time at Owakudani, but not much because it was 100% cloudy and we could not see much. Then we continued in the Cable-car down to Togendai. From there we took a bus to Sengoku-Kogen, and a Susuki Grass Field (Miscanthus sinensis). We walked around there for an hour or 2 taking photos and then we walked from there to the Sengokuhara Youth Hostel, where we spent the night. Here is Gora Station in the first photo. We visited Gora Park and in their greenhouse we saw the most amazing Bougainvillea sp. display (photos 2 and 3). |
Oct22_002_Gora Area_Station_RC |
Oct22nd_ Hakone005_RC |
Oct22_017_GoraArea _Bougainvillea_RC |
  In a different greenhouse at Gora Park they had a display of "Dai" flowers (Saxifraga fortunei var. incisolobata cv.). This plant is called "Dai" because the flowers assume the shape of the "Dai" () kanji character. In the first photo you will note that the "Dai" is laying on its side. In the 2nd photo it assumes the correct orientation. The 3rd photo is a shot of the Cable-car which took us from Gora to Sounzan. |
Oct22_019_Gora Area_DAI_Flowers_RC |
Oct22_020_Gora Area_DAI_Flowers_RC |
Oct22_036_GoraArea _KoenKamiStation_RC |
  In the first 2 shots in this row we are approaching Owakudani in the Ropeway Gondola Car. The first shot shows you the area of the volcanic blow-out a couple of hundred years ago. The work being done is to try and siphon off the steam/pressure to avoid another blow-out of this area and also to stabilize the ground. The 2nd photo is getting closer to Owakudani and it is the building where they sell the "black eggs". We did not take any pictures of black eggs this trip, but you can see a black egg photo from our trip in June of 2009 HERE (Row 11). In the 3rd shot we are continuing down from Owakudani to Togendai in the Cable-car. It was 100% cloudy today and we did not spend much time at Owakudani - there was just not that much to see for us; we've been here too many times in the past. If you go to the "Complete List Of All Photos" and do a text search for Hakone you will find that we have taken trips here in June 2009, October 2007 and March 2004. If you want more photos of Owakudani then you can go to one of those months. But, wait - we will return here again tomorrow and it will be a clear blue sky day! |
Oct22nd_ Hakone045_RC |
Oct22_047_Owakudani Area_BlackEggsPlace_RC |
Oct22_055_Owakudani _Togendai_Ropeway_RC |
  When we arrived at Togendai we took a bus bound for Sengoku-Kogen immediately. Sengoku-Kogen is famous for its Susuki Grass Field (Miscanthus sinensis). We experienced many different lighting conditions today due to passing clouds and sun shining through now and then - lots of interesting colors. Some of the colors are also due to us using different light settings on our cameras too. The wind was blowing pretty strong too, so you can see lots of motion. |
Oct22nd_ Hakone058_RC |
Oct22nd_ Hakone059_RC |
Oct22nd_ Hakone061_RC |
  Here are 3 more photos at the Sengoku-Kogen Susuki Grass Field (Miscanthus sinensis). |
Oct22nd_ Hakone062_RC |
Oct22_068_Sengoku Kogen_SusukiGrass_RC |
Oct22_071_Sengoku Kogen_SusukiGrass_RC |
  Here are an additional 3 photos at the Sengoku-Kogen Susuki Grass Field (Miscanthus sinensis). You can see Kazuya in the center photo and me in the 3rd photo. Note that we both have the same sweatshirts - people might think we're a couple or something, eh? |
Oct22_072_Sengoku Kogen_SusukiGrass_RC |
Oct22_076_SengokuKogen _SusukiGrass_Kazuya_RC |
Oct22nd_ Hakone067_RC |
  Here are 3 more photos at the Sengoku-Kogen Susuki Grass Field (Miscanthus sinensis). Note how the first 2 photos show the grass as being virtually white, while the 3rd photo shows it to be a beautiful gold color. Why? Different lighting and different camera settings. |
Oct22nd_ Hakone084_RC |
Oct22nd_ Hakone092_RC |
Oct22_082_Sengoku Kogen_SusukiGrass_RC |
  Here is 1 photo of the Sengoku-Kogen Susuki Grass Field (Miscanthus sinensis). The 2nd and 3rd photos are at the same place, but we found about 1/2 dozen Fall Gentiana scabra var. buergeri flowers. |
Oct22_106_Sengoku Kogen_SusukiGrass_RC |
Oct22nd_ Hakone110_RC |
Oct22_120_Sengoku Kogen_FallLindou_RC |
  And here are the final 3 photos at the Sengoku-Kogen Susuki Grass Field (Miscanthus sinensis) on this page!! |
Oct22_130_Sengoku Kogen_SusukiGrass_RC |
Oct22_142_Sengoku Kogen_SusukiGrass_RC |
Oct22nd_ Hakone135_RC |
End Page 2, but October 22nd continues on Page 3 |
Several 2011 Calendars |
Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 3 for the continuation of today's photos and also the continuation of this trip to the Hakone Area. |
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