Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos

Transcription

Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos - Page 1 of 1
This is Page 1 of 1 - the best of February 2003!
posted: Originally in 2003, 2nd Edition - July 2012
This page includes photos taken on February 3rd and 13th, 2003. These photos were originally posted back
in 2003, but were somehow "lost" until recently. Now that they have been found, We are going to the effort
to repost them - with the hope that they may be enjoyed by a few people. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
Begin February 2003
The first photo here, taken at the Inokashira Park Pond in Kichijouji, was taken on February 3. The 2nd photo was taken at Bubaigawara - a plum blossom park - on February
13. That's Kazuya standing under the tree.
Inokashira
Park02aRC
Bubaigawara
_Plum21aRC
End February 2003's Photos
Thanks so much for taking the time to look at these old photos which have been found and reposted. We hope that you found something
which made your visit worthwhile and enjoyable.
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This is Page 1 of 1 - the best of February
& Early March 2004!
posted: March 7th, 2004
This page includes photos taken between February 14th and March 6th, 2004. Most of the photos are of
flowers this month. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
This first row of photos includes a Hamamelis sp. (Witch Hazel) flower taken on 2/14 at Jindai Botanical Garden. There are also 2 pictures of Crocuses - taken on 2/21.
JindaijiBotGarden_Hamamelis_60.jpg
ShowaKinenPark_Crocus06.jpg
ShowaKinenPark_Crocus07.jpg
This row shows 2 plum blossom photos and a Winter Sweet Blossom - all taken on 2/21.
ShowaKinenPark_
Plum14.jpg
ShowaKinenPark_
Plum16.jpg
ShowaKinenPark
_WinterSweet34.jpg
Here you can see a Plum Blossom bud, a Lily of the Valley Bush and a spring flower collage (2/21).
SpringFlowersCollage
Postcard.jpg
ShowaKinenPark_
Plum61.jpg
ShowaKinen_Pieris
japonica48.jpg
Here is a collage made by Kazuya, an Egret at Mizu-Moto Park and an Equisetum (2/28).
ShowaKinenPark
Collage01.jpg
MizuMoto
Egret02c.jpg
MizuMoto
Equisetum14.jpg
This row is 3 bird shots, taken at the Mizu-Moto Bird Sanctuary. There were Cormorants and Herons nesting. Notice all the bird dung under the trees in the center photo!
MizuMotoBirdSanctuary15.jpg
Here is a nice shot of chickens, taken by Kazuya, a nice full moon photo at Mt. Takao, and a psychedelic full moon shot (both moons taken on March 6th) - exposed at 10
seconds - hand held, looking through a tree.
MizuMotoChickens_Kaz06.jpg
TakaoSan5_Moon29.jpg
TakaoSan5_Moon38.jpg
In this row there is a collage of Chrysosplenium album var. stamineum, a 2nd collage including other plants, taken by Kazuya (both taken March 6th), and The 3rd photo is my
DVD collection as of some months ago. By the way, here is a link to my entire DVD collection if you're asking yourself what might be good to rent for the weekend! Click Here. The
DVD's will be sorted by date purchased. You can click on title to sort that way if you desire. This link will open a new browser window.
TakaoSan5_Chrysosplenium
albumvarstamineum.jpg
MtTakao2004march
Collage01a.jpg
DVDShelf3
_resize.jpg
That's all for this month, hope that you found something which you enjoyed looking at.
posted: March 1st, 2005
Photos included this month include only those taken during February, 2005. There are only 30 photos. Click
on any thumbnail to begin.
The first 2 photos are of a display along the street where I walk to work at Louis Vuitton. There were all of these water tubes along the street for about 3 blocks. The name of
the exhibit was "Aqua Illusion". The first photo is daytime and the 2nd photo is night. The 3rd photo is a poster of various kinds of "Winter Soba" (buckwheat noodles) available for those
who make the trek out to Takao during the winter. It's a good gimmick to get people out to the mountain in the winter, also delicious!
Aqua
Illusion03.jpg
Aqua
Illusion07.jpg
TakaoSanWinter
Soba01a.jpg
The first photo shows some Japanese Grosbeaks at Nogawa Park - near our house. Taken through binoculars on February 6. The next is some kind of hawk - taken on a trip to
Enoshima Island on February 12. Third photo shows Enoshima Island and Mt. Fuji to the right of it - taken from Inamuragasaki Point.
NogawaPk_Japanese
Grosbeak03.jpg
EnoshimaFrom
Inamuragasaki02.jpg
Inamuragasaki
Hawk02.jpg
First, another shot of Enoshima Island with Mt. Fuji to the right of it again - we took these photos from Inamuragasaki Point before we went to Enoshima Island. Then we went
to the island itself (no great photos). The next photo is a Monticola solitarius on the back side of Inamuragasaki Point - taken at night and then lightened up in PhotoShop. Final shot is
Enoshima at night.
EnoshimaFrom
EnoshimaFromInamuragasaki
Night.jpg
Inamuragasaki05.jpg
Kamakura_Monticola
_solitarius02a.jpg
First picture taken on 2/13 at Nogawa Park again. It's a woodpecker, but I didn't take the time to look up what kind, sorry. Next shot is the first photo with my new camera a Canon PowerShot S70. It's a 7.1 megapixel camera (my old one was a 4.0 megapixel model). This plum tree is behind my bus stop where I wait every day. The 3rd shot in this row is
a bird sign of the birds which are common in Naganuma Park, a place we went on 2/26. We didn't see much - too cold and windy, although what we DID see was impressive!
NogawaPk_Woodpecker01a.jpg
NishinoBusStopPlum2005_03.jpg
NaganumaPark04a.jpg
This is Takahatafudo Shrine - at Takahatafudo! It's a place the train passed through on the way to Naganuma Park, we saw this shrine from the train on the way home, so we
stopped there and looked around for a while. Third shot in this row is a plum blossom at the shrine.
TakahatafudoShrine03.jpg
We went to Showa Kinen Park on 2/27, and the remainder of the pictures this month were taken at Showa Kinen Park. This row shows 2 plum blossoms and a Witch Hazel
(Hamamelis) sp. tree.
ShowaKinenFeb05
Hamamelis02.jpg
ShowaKinenFeb05
Plum01.jpg
ShowaKinenFeb05
Plum04.jpg
First picture is "candle ice" or "frost flowers". Next shot is some kind of shrike and the 3rd shot is a Bonsai tree. They just opened a new Bonsai Garden in Showa Kinen Park
and it is REALLY INCREDIBLE. Each tree has a sign listing the genus & species of tree, how many years old the tree is, and so on.
ShowaKinenFeb05FrostFlower02.jpg
ShowaKinenFeb05Shrike.jpg
ShowaKinenFeb05Bonsai02.jpg
Isn't that first shot amazing, looks like some kind of a miniature hill. The remaining 2 shots are coniferous trees.
ShowaKinenFeb05
Bonsai07.jpg
ShowaKinenP_
Bonsai4.jpg
ShowaKinenFeb05
Bonsai08.jpg
Three more coniferous trees. The tree in the center is a Sakhalin Spruce and it's 300 (YES - THREE HUNDRED) years old!!!
ShowaKinenFeb05Bonsai12a.jpg
The first shot is a hardwood, and although I cannot remember the age, it was amazingly old. Next shot shows some interesting Bonsai tree information - a small piece of a big
sign. This picture is easily readable in it's full size version, request it be e-mailed to you if you're interested. The 3rd photo is my DVD collection as of Aug 20, 2004 - this photo is no
longer current! By the way, here is a link to my entire DVD collection if you're asking yourself what might be good to rent for the weekend! Click Here. The DVD's will be sorted by date
purchased. You can click on title to sort that way if you desire. This link will open a new browser window.
ShowaKinenFeb05
Bonsai20a.jpg
ShowaKinenFeb05
Bonsai18.jpg
DVDShelf20Aug2004
ResizeSmall.jpg
That's all for this month, hope that you found something you enjoyed out of the limited selection which there is.
Go To Page:
The photos on this page cover from February 5th through February 18th - the photos from 3 weekends. Click
on any thumbnail to begin.
The first picture in this row is a red Hamamelis sp. (Witch Hazel). The 2nd and 3rd shots are yellow Hamamelis sp. (Witch Hazel) - all of these photos were taken at Jindai
Botanical Gardens on February 5th.
JindaiBotGar
Hamamelis03RC
JindaiBotGar
Hamamelis05RC
JindaiBotGar
Hamamelis06RC
Here are 2 water lilies - taken at the inside greenhouse of Jindai Botanical Gardens. Also February 5th.
JindaiBotGarWaterLily01RAWRC
JindaiBotGarWaterLily05RC
And - here are 3 orchids, also taken at the inside greenhouse of Jindai Botanical Gardens on February 5th.
JindaiBotGarOrchid10RC
The first shot here is a Shibateranthis pinnatifida (also known as Eranthis pinnatifida). This is an endangered species in Japan. We found this one in a special part of Nogawa
Park on February 8th. The 2nd image is the same shot with some PhotoShop effect used which highlights the flower's texture. The 3rd shot is a Wintersweet - also in the special part of
Nogawa Park.
NogawaPkShibateranthis_
pinnatifida07aRC
NogawaPkShibateranthis_
pinnatifida07a1RC
NogawaPk_Wintersweet
02RC
The first 2 shots here are both Pertya spp. at Mt. Takao. The first shot was taken on February 11th and is a fully opened seed head with all of the seeds gone. The 2nd shot included primarily for contrast - was taken on March 25, 2004 - obviously a different species because even though later in the season, the seed head is not yet open. The 3rd shot is the
first Asarum sp. of this season - also February 11th on Mt. Takao.
TakaoSan_Asarum02aRC
Takao_San_Pertya_sp03aRC
TakaoSan6_Pertyasp02RC
On February 18th we went to Tsuru-Tsuru Hot Spring and after our soak we hiked down to the White Rock Waterfall. The first shot is the sign at the start of the trail. The 2nd
shot is about 90% of the waterfall and the 3rd shot is only the very top part of the waterfall. Compare the 3rd shot with the 2nd shot and try to find what part of the waterfall you are
looking at.
WhiteRockWaterfall05RC
WhiteRockWaterfall01RAWRC
WhiteRockWaterfall03aRAWRC
On the trail to White Rock Waterfall we found a bunch of "Winterberries". It was well past the peak of the season for them, and Kazuya collected about 99% of those shown
here - my eyes have trouble finding them. He made a watery jam out of them, it was tasty though. A couple of you should notice the newspaper!!
Winterberries01RC
Thanks so much for taking the time to look, please go to page 2 for the conclusion of the best photos
of February.
Go To Page:
Go To Page:
The photos on this page are from the weekend of February 25th - a trip to Bubaigawara Plum Garden - and
our 3 porch violets as they looked on February 28th. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
The first 3 rows on this page contain only pictures of Plum Blossoms at Bubaigawara Plum Garden. The blossoms are about a month late this year, but they finally came out.
We visited on February 25th and, much to our surprise, the Plums were still not at their peak.
Before you comment that "oh, there's nothing here but plum blossoms" please note the diversity in the colors, the number of petals per flower, the subtle differences in shading of the
anthers and stamens and so on.
Feb06BubaigawaraPlum07RC
As forewarned - 3 more Plum Blossoms.
As forewarned - 3 more Plum Blossoms.
In this row you can find one more Plum Blossom photo and also 2 photos of Adonis ramosa. This is a threatened or endangered species in Japan, so the only place we have
ever seen it is in various parks and botanical gardens.
Feb06BubaigawaraAdonis02RC
More Plum Blossom photos.
Feb06BubaigawaraAdonis05RC
BubaigawaraFeb06Plum_Dan12RC
And the final 3 Plum Blossom photos.
BubaigawaraFeb06Plum15RC
These are pictures of Violets which we have growing on our porch. The first picture is a Viola tokubuchiana var. takedana - Hina Violet - note the tiny flower bud too. The 2nd
shot is our Takao Violet (Viola yezoensis) and the 3rd shot, the one which is making the least progress to date, is a Mandshurican Violet (Viola mandshurica).
Feb28HinaPorchVoilet
01aRC
Feb28TakaoPorch
Violet01aRC
Feb28Viola_mandshurica_
Porch02aRC
This is now a link to a separate web page showing 3 photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV.
Dec 2005 DVD Collection - 3 Photos
Movie of Home Theater System
& New TV Pictures
(new window)
Thanks so much for taking the time to look this month. We hope that you found something which you
enjoyed looking at.
Go To Page:
Go To Page:
posted: February 28th, 2007
This page covers February 4th through February 10th. On February 4th we hiked to Kawanori Waterfall and
on the 10th we went to Nogawa Park. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
Begin February 4th
On February 4th, when we were climbing up to the big waterfall on the Mt. Kawanori trail, we were blessed with a view of a "Kamo-shika" or Japanese Serow. I was fortunate
enough to have seen one of these critters last May (see those photos HERE) when I climbed Mt. Mitsutouge, but we saw this one really close-up and we were able to get some good
pictures. For more information on this animal please see the article at the Wikipedia website CLICK HERE - will open in new window. There is also a larger JPG of this image HERE (1.1
MB and 2,000 x 1,516 pixels).
Feb04_Kawanori_KamoShika03aRC
or HERE for 1.1 MB larger JPG file
Feb04_Kawanori_
KamoShika04aRC
Kawanori_
Kamoshika08aRC
The first shot in this row is a 1.42 MB Movie of the Serow as it runs away, very cute. The 2nd shot is a small waterfall on the way to the big waterfall - you can see where
this creek and waterfall may have flowed a millennia ago! The 3rd shot is a rock wall covered with icicles.
Kawanori_KamoshikaMovie
a 1.42 MB Movie
Feb04_Kawanori_
Ice01RC
Feb04_Kawanori_Small
Waterfall03RC
The first shot here again shows the same waterfall as the 3rd shot in row 2, but it shows the channel of a millennia ago with a bit more clarity. The next 2 shots show yet
another waterfall on the way to the big waterfall.
Feb04_Kawanori_SmallWaterfall04RC
Feb04_Kawanori_SmallWaterfall05aRC
Feb04_Kawanori_SmallWaterfall07aRC
The first shot here is the same waterfall as in Row 3. The next shot is another icicle wall and the 3rd photo is the first view we had of the Kawanori Big Waterfall.
Feb04_Kawanori
_Ice04RC
Feb04_Kawanori_Small
Waterfall08RC
Kawanori_Hyakuhiro
NoTaki01RC
Here are 3 different shots of the Kawanori Big Waterfall. I don't know what the height of the falls is, pretty tall! For summertime shots of this waterfall, please see July 2004's
Photos. (CLICK - will open in new window). It was a lot greener and there was more water.
Kawanori_Hyakuhiro
NoTaki06RC
Feb04_Kawanori_Big
Waterfall03RC
Kawanori_Hyakuhiro
NoTaki12RC
The first photo is some ice crystals in the creek. The next 2 shots are the Big Waterfall again - that's me in the 3rd shot.
Feb04_Kawanori_Big
WaterfallIce02RC
Kawanori_Hyakuhiro
NoTaki17RC
That's Kazuya in the first shot, and then one final shot of the waterfall. That's the end of the February 4th pictures.
Kawanori_Hyakuhiro
NoTaki18RC
Feb04_Kawanori_Big
Waterfall08RC
Kawanori_Hyakuhiro
NoTaki30RC
End February 4th, Begin February 10th
On February 10th we went to Nogawa Park and found some more Shibateranthis pinnatifida in bloom - the first shot - and some Adonis. Adonis is an endangered species in the
wild - due to overzealous collecting.
Feb10_NogawaPk_
Adonis01aRC
Feb10_NogawaPk_Shiba
teranthis_pinnatifida02RC
NogawaP
Feb11_AdonisRC
Here are 3 more photos of Shibateranthis pinnatifida flowers. This will most likely be the final shots of this flower which you'll see until next year.
Feb10_NogawaPk_Shibateranthis
_pinnatifida10aRC
NogawaPFeb20_
SetsubunsouRC
_pinnatifida15aRC
Here are 2 shots of what is locally known as Zazensou, or Swamp Cabbage. The Latin name is Symplocarpus foetidus var. latissimus. It was the first time we ever found it in
Nogawa Park! We were surprised.
Feb10_NogawaPk_
ZaZensou03RC
Feb10_NogawaPk_
ZaZensou05RC
End February 10th, End Page 1
Thanks so much for taking the time to look. Please continue on to Page 2 for a continuation of this
month's adventures.
Go To Page:
Go To Page:
The photos on this page continue with February 11th and go through the end of the month. On the 11th we
went to the Musashi-Itsukaichi area. On the 17th we went to Bubaigawara Plum Garden and the Plum
Blossoms were pretty nice already. On the 24th we went to Nogawa Park again - no pictures included. On
the 25th we went to Yokohama and the Yokohama Chinatown. There are 4 pictures from that minor
adventure. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
Begin February 11th
On February 11th we took the train to Musashi-Itsukaichi and then a bus to the Hino-Hara area in search of some waterfalls which we had never been to before. In the first
shot you can see a waterfall which we did NOT go to, but which we will someday go to. In the 2nd and 3rd shots you can see the waterfall which we DID go to - Fussawa Waterfall (my
labels are spelled incorrectly).
HinoHaraWaterfalls02aRC
Feb11HousawaWaterfall03RC
Feb11HousawaWaterfall05aRC
And here are the final 2 shots of Fussawa Waterfall - the total height is 60 meters and it is 4 steps. You can't see all of the steps from the base.
11Feb_Fussawa_
Waterfall05RC
11Feb_Fussawa_
Waterfall13RC
On February 17th we went to Bubaigawara Plum Garden. The first photo in this row is actually a Witch Hazel (Hamamelis sp.). The 2nd photo is a small branch with nice Plum
buds bursting open and the 3rd shot is a beautiful Red Plum Blossom.
Feb17_BubaiPlum
Blossom05RC
Feb17_Bubai_
Hamamelis01aRC
17Feb_
Bubai09RC
The first shot here is the same photo as the 3rd shot in the previous row - this one has been cropped. The 2nd shot is more buds and the 3rd shot is also buds, but open more
than in the 2nd shot.
Feb17_BubaiPlum
Blossom05aRC
Feb17_BubaiPlum
Blossom09aRC
Feb17_BubaiPlum
Blossom15RC
Here are 3 more shots of plum blossoms. Note the 3rd shot - the center of the flower looks like tiny gold nuggets! There is an amazingly beautiful larger JPG file of this shot
AVAILABLE HERE. It's 608 KB in size and 1,517 x 2,000 pixels.
Feb17_BubaiPlum
Blossom17RC
Feb17_BubaiPlum
Blossom19RC
Feb17_BubaiPlumBlossom22aRC
or HERE for 608 KB larger JPG file
Here are an additional 3 plum blossom shots.
Feb17_BubaiPlum
Blossom25RC
17Feb_Bubai
25aRC
Feb17_BubaiPlum
Blossom28aRC
The first shot here is taken from where we ate lunch at Bubaigawara. The 2nd shot is Kazuya in front of a nice plum tree and the 3rd shot is a very early flower bunch of
Cornus officianalis.
Feb17_BubaiPlum
Blossom38aRC
Feb17_BubaiPlumBlossom_
Kazuya43RC
Feb17_Bubai_Cornus_
officianalis04RC
There is an old Red Brick Building (Warehouse) on the Yokohama waterfront. It's historic, but I cannot find out why - or what it was originally used for. One website says it was
originally a Dutch Warehouse, but I really don't know, anyway - it's picturesque. These first 2 shots in this row show the backside of the building, the front of it was jam packed with
people due to a marathon starting there on this day. These first 2 shots have been "shadow and highlight" enhanced with ACDSee. The 3rd shot is the same as the 2nd shot, but with no
enhancement so you can see what the original photo looked like. As you can see - the ACDSee "shadow and highlight" enhancement changed a useless and disappointing photo into
something which is enticing and interesting.
Yokohama03a_RedBrickRC
Feb25_Yokomaha_RedBrickBldg03aRC
Feb25_Yokomaha_RedBrickBldg03RC
The only shot here is a picture of one of the several gates into Chinatown in Yokohama. Chinatown was somewhat disappointing to us - we expected some interesting shops
and sidewalk vendors of interesting things, but it's just streets of Chinese Restaurants with long lines of people waiting to eat in them.
Feb25_Yokomaha_
ChinaTownGate01RC
End February 25th, End Page 2, End February 2007's Photos
This is a link to a separate web page showing a Relatively NEW photo of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our new Sharp Aquos
TV. You can see the new DVD Shelf here too.
April 1, 2006 DVD Collection,
& New TV Pictures
(new window)
Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page, that's it for this month. Any feedback is
always appreciated.
Go To Page:
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This page begins with February 2nd at Jindai Botanical Graden without snow. Next is the 3rd at Jindai
Botanical Garden - with snow. Then on the 9th we took a trip to Sawai and Mitake on the Upper-Tama River.
Click on any thumbnail to begin.
Begin February 2nd
On February 2nd Kazuya and I went to Jindai Botanical Garden - that's the one near our house. The first thing we found were some blossoming plum trees of various species
and/or varieties. It was early for most of them, but there were a few out.
Feb02_JindaiBG_
PlumBlossom09RC
Feb02_JindaiBG_
PlumBlossom24RC
Feb02_JindaiBG_
PlumBlossom13RC
We also found some Hamamelis spp. The first shot here shows the bud as it just starts to open - notice the way the flower petals seem to unroll from the bud - interesting.
The 2nd shot is a yellow flowered variety and the 3rd shot is a red flowered variety.
Feb02_JindaiBG_
Hamamelis01RC
Feb02_JindaiBG_
Hamamelis05RC
Feb02_JindaiBG_
Hamamelis11_REDRC
Here is a Setsubunsou (Shibateranthis pinnatifida), one more Hamamelis sp. flower and finally - 3 pine trees across the pond wearing their snow protection.
Feb02_JindaiBG_Shibateranthis_
pinnatifida07cRC
Feb02_JindaiBG_
Pines_Pond04RC
Feb2_Jindaiji20_Hamamelis
XIntermediaDianeRC
Here are 3 shots taken inside the greenhouse. First there is a shot in the cactus area and then 2 shots in the Begonia Room.
Feb02_JindaiBG_
Begonia04RC
Feb2_Jindaiji34_
BegoniaRC
Feb02_JindaiBG_
Cactus01RC
We lucked out and saw a Japanese Green Woodpecker (Picus awokera) and this bird just sat there pecking away for 10 or 15 minutes while we took pictures. I used my
Optical Zoom PLUS Digital Zoom for these shots so you can notice some pretty severe chromatic aberration.
Feb02_JindaiBG_Picus_awokera_
JapaneseGreenWoodpecker09RC
Feb02_JindaiBG_Picus_awokera_
JapaneseGreenWoodpecker13RC
End February 2nd, Begin February 3rd
It snowed most all night on February 2nd and most all day on the 3rd. We returned to Jindai Botanical Garden on the 3rd and took snow pictures. Here is one plum tree with
snow on and around it. And here are those SAME 3 pine trees across the pond wearing their snow protection (Row 3, Picture 3).
Feb03_JindaiBG_
SnowyPlum02RC
Feb03_JindaiBG_
SnowyPond02RC
Here is the "Big Lawn" with the Pampas Grass - buried under a good solid 4 inches (10 cm) of snow - just happened to catch 2 crows flying over too. The 2nd shot is a plum
blossom with snow on and around it.
Feb03_JindaiBG_
SnowyLawn06RC
Feb03_JindaiBG_
SnowyPlum05RC
End February 3rd, Begin February 9th
On February 9th we went out to Mitake and Sawai on the Upper Tama River. It was supposed to snow that day and we had wanted to stay in an Inn at the summit of Mt.
Mitake and witness the snowstorm, but they were not accepting any reservations at all. So, we went out to Mitake and hiked along the Tama River and took pictures. It had snowed just
the previous weekend too, so these photos show some snow in them.
Feb09_SawaiMitake_
SnowyScene04RC
Feb09_SawaiMitake_
SnowyScene05RC
Feb9th_Sawai
Mitake10RC
It is really quite rare to see snow along this area, in fact we were trying to remember if we had EVER seen snow out here and decided that we had not. So, it was pretty
impressive for us to see snow on the shore of the Tama River.
Feb09_SawaiMitake
_SnowyScene14RC
Feb09_SawaiMitake
_SnowyScene17RC
Feb9th_Sawai
Mitake19RC
Here are some crazy kayakers (it was -4 degrees C), a very early Pussy Willow and the 3rd shot shows an older building and in this shot you can see that the snow has
started. It actually started around 2:45 PM.
Feb09_SawaiMitake_
SnowyScene22RC
Feb09_SawaiMitake_
Inn02_SnowRC
Feb9th_SawaiMitake25_
NekoYanagiRC
In the first shot here you can see the snow falling. In the 2nd shot you can see a Hiyodori (Hypsipetes amaurotis) (Bulbul). In the final shot you see a Red-flanked Bluetail
(Tarsiger cyanurus) - a bird which we rarely see. Pretty little guy isn't he!
Feb9th_Sawai
Mitake31RC
Feb09_SawaiMitake_
Hiyodori03RC
Feb09_SawaiMitake
_RuriBitaki02_09RC
Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 2 for the
continuation of this months adventures.
Go To Page:
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The photos on this page start with February 11th and a trip to Nagaike Park for bird photographs. On
February 16th we went to Koishikawa Botanical Garden for Plum Blossom photos. Finally, we went to
Nogawa and Musashino Parks. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
Begin February 11th
On February 11th we went out to Nagaike Park to search for birds. We did pretty good. Here are 3 shots of a female Red-flanked Bluetail (Tarsiger cyanurus). This is the same
bird you just saw on the previous page, but that one was a male. Note the 2nd shot where she seems to be saying "what are YOU looking at human?"
Feb11_NagaikePk
_Bird06RC
Feb11_NagaikePk
_Bird20RC
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This bird was our ultimate find of the day! It's a Uragus sibiricus or Long-tailed Rosefinch. We were so excited to find this bird - it was specifically what we went there to find.
We had never seen it before. There were several photographers snapping away at this place - many of them had HUGE Telephoto lenses! This bird likes the berries on this tree so
everybody was just hanging out here waiting for one to come.
Feb11_NagaikePk_Uragus_sibiricus
_LongTailedRosefinch01scRC
_LongTailedRosefinch08cRC
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More Long-tailed Rosefinch photos - note in the 3rd photo that he is scratching his side.
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_LongTailedRosefinch61cRC
On February 16th we went to Tokyo University's Botanical Garden - the Koishikawa Botanical Garden. It was much larger than we expected and also more impressive then we
expected it to be. The first 2 shots here are a very early Cherry Tree. The 3rd shot is Kazuya beside a HUGE Cinnamomum camphora (Camphor Tree).
Feb16_KoishikawaBG_Prunus_
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Feb16_KoishikawaBG_Prunus_
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Feb16_KoishikawaBG_Cinnamomum_
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The first shot here is looking up into that Camphor Tree shown in the 3rd shot in the previous row. The 2nd shot is a Lagerstroemia subcostata and the 3rd shot is a part of
their Japanese Garden.
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_CinnamomumCamphoraRC
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Feb16KoishikawaBG40_
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Here are 3 amazing Plum Blossom shots.
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And here are 3 more amazing Plum Blossom shots. In the 2nd photo you can see white AND red blossoms.
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_OosakazukiRC
Here are 2 more Plum Blossom shots - note the backlighting in the 2nd shot.
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_GosechinomaiRC
Feb16_KoishikawaBG_Plum
Blossom27_BacklightRC
End February 16th, Begin February 23rd
On February 23rd Kazuya and I went to Nogawa and Musashino Parks, both within easy bicycling distance of our house. The first shot here shows that buds are starting to
expand and colors are beginning to show up in the trees. The 2nd shot is some sparrows in a tree and the 3rd shot is another Shibateranthis pinnatifida flower. They are at their peak
now.
Feb23_NogawaPk_
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Feb23_NogawaPk_
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_pinnatifida06RC
One final shot of Shibateranthis pinnatifida to start. This shot has been cropped and brightness adjusted with Photoshop. The 2nd shot is an Anemone pseudoaltaica and the
3rd shot is an Adonis sp.
_pinnatifida14cPSRC
Feb23_NogawaPk
_Adonis02RC
Feb23NogawaP20_Anemone
PseudoaltaicaRC
The first 2 shots here are Plum blossoms - a white one and a red one. The final shot is a Hamamelis japonica taken from a distance with the sun shining from behind.
Feb23NogawaP24
_WhitePlumRC
Feb23NogawaP25
_RedPlumRC
Feb23_MusashinoPk01
_HamamelisRC
The first 2 shots are again Hamamelis japonica. The 3rd shot is another plum tree with a Mejiro (Zosterops japonicus) or Japanese White-eye sitting in it.
Feb23_MusashinoPk03
_HamamelisRC
Feb23_MusashinoPk07
_HamamelisRC
Feb23_MusashinoPk10_Plum
Blossoms_MejiroRC
End February 23rd, End Page 2, End February 2008's Photos
This is a link to a separate web page showing some photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV.
November 11, 2007 DVD Collection,
& Sharp Aquos TV Pictures
(new window)
By the way - Kazuya is still maintaining his blog, which exhibits different photos than shown here
(mostly - I have used some of his though). It looks very nice and you can find it HERE. (Click on the
"Studies of Plants and Wildlife" link in the new window.)
And, that shows you what we saw from February 11th through the end of the month. Thanks so much
for taking the time to look at the site this month, I hope you found something you enjoyed looking at.
Any feedback is always appreciated.
Go To Page:
This page begins with February 8th and takes you through the 15th. There were no adventures after that
date, unfortunately. I had to work on 3 of the 4 Saturday's in February and Kazuya had to work on the 1
Saturday which I did not have to work. In addition, Kazuya had to work on 1 Sunday. Click on any thumbnail
to begin.
Begin February 8th
On February 8th Kazuya and I went out to Mitake and Sawai, on the Upper Tama River. We were hoping to maybe see some good birds, but we didn't. We ate lunch in this
really nice Soba (a kind of noodles) Restaurant. The first 2 pictures show the restaurant from the outside and the 3rd picture shows what we had for lunch - Soba and Tempura. Very
YUMMY!
Feb8th_Sawai_Mitake_Tama
River01_RestaurantRC
Feb08_TamaRiver_Mitake01_
RestaurantRC
Feb8th_Sawai_Mitake_Tama
River10_RestaurantMealRC
After we ate lunch we walked along the river - people were kayaking even in this cold and windy weather. We also found that the Pussy Willows were out.
Feb08_TamaRiver_Mitake06_PussyWillowRC
Feb08_TamaRiver_Mitake14_PussyWillowRC
Feb8th_Sawai_Mitake_TamaRiver33_KayakerRC
Here are 2 picturesque shots along the river. The first shot shows the Ginkgo tree which is so beautiful in November (See Pages 2 and 3 of November's photos).
Feb08_TamaRiver_Mitake11RC
Here are 2 more river photos showing the sun reflecting off the surface of the river.
On February 11th Kazuya and I went to Bubaigawara and went to a Plum Blossom Festival there. Here are 3 shots of Plum Blossoms.
Feb11_Bubaigawara
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Feb11_Bubaigawara
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Feb11th_Bubaigawara
_PlumFestival26RC
And here is one more shot of a Plum Tree - a bit further back - so that you can see how dense the flowers are on the tree.
Feb11_Bubaigawara
_Plum13RC
On the 14th of the month we went to Nogawa Park and found the Setsubun-sou (Shibateranthis pinnatifida) to be finishing up, but we found a few good flowers to photograph.
Here are 3 of the best shots.
Feb14_NogawaPark29_
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Feb14_NogawaPark11_
Shibateranthis_pinnatifida_BESTRC
Feb14_NogawaPark16_
Shibateranthis_pinnatifida_BESTRC
On the 15th we went to Koishikawa Botanical Garden - I forgot to take my camera! Here are 2 of the best shots which Kazuya took. The first photo is a very early cherry tree.
The 2nd shot is me and a "weeping" Plum Tree.
Feb15th_KoishikawaBG
_22_CherryRC
Feb15th_KoishikawaBG
_71_Plum_DanRC
End February 15th, End February 2009's Photos
This is a link to a separate web page showing some photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV.
February 22, 2009 DVD Collection,
& Sharp Aquos TV Pictures
(new window)
Kazuya has his - blog all updated now with his latest photos and writings and it is very beautiful. If you
want to take a look at it you can find it HERE. (Click on the "Studies of Plants and Wildlife" link in the
new window.)
Thanks so much for taking the time to look this month, sorry there isn't much to show. I had to work 3 of the 4 Saturdays of the month
and Kazuya had to work on one of the Sundays, so we didn't get out as much as we might have hoped to.
Google it
✔
Search danwiz.com Google it
✔
Search Kazuya's Blog
Photos of Japan - we generally post the best photos from this month on the first of next month.
Scroll down for a description of this month’s contents.
Click the photo to go to the newest pages.
February 2010 - Favorite Photo
"A Peaceful Snow Scene". Taken From the "Tadami
Line" Train Window by Kazuya. February 21, 2010.
Click below if you don't want to go to the newest
photos
FEBRUARY 2010: TWO Pages This Month FEATURING Shibateranthis pinnatifida & Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) at Nogawa Park * Trip to Aizu-Wakamatsu - A Ride On The Tadami Train Line In
Fukushima Prefecture * Hachi-Machi Hot Spring * Tama-Nashi Hot Spring * Yugura Hot Spring * The Awa-Shin-Sui Sparkling Water Well * Beautiful Snow Pictures in Fukushima Prefecture * More
(Click on the Photo or on this text to go directly to the February photos)
Go To Page:
This page begins with February 6th, a trip to Nogawa Park, and takes you through the 20th, a trip to
Fukushima Prefecture. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
Begin February 6th
ground.
On February 6th Kazuya and I went to Nogawa Park again. These 2 photos show you how many Setsubun-sou (Shibateranthis pinnatifida) have suddenly shot up out of the
Feb06_NogawaPark_14_
Shibateranthis_pinnatifida_RC
Feb06_NogawaPark_15_
There was a Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) at the pond which just stayed around and didn't want to move at all. It was so windy and cold that I can understand its reluctance to
move! It did dive into the water once and came up with a freshwater shrimp. The final shot is an egret, which was standing in one of the other ponds.
Feb06_NogawaPark
_3_Kingfishers_RC
Feb06_NogawaPark
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Feb06_NogawaPark
_23C_Kingfisher_RC
On the weekend of February 20th & 21st Kazuya and I started off by taking a night bus to Aizu-Wakamatsu, in Fukushima Prefecture. We arrived at 5:20 AM and took a
Tadami Line Train at 5:59 AM bound for Koide, but we got off before the end of the line. The first photo shows our train (on the left track). The 2nd photo shows some snow along the
way and the 3rd photo shows it snowing very heavily at a station where we stopped for a few minutes.
Feb20th005_
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AizuKawaguchi05_SceneryRC
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The first shot in this row shows another snow scene. The 2nd shot is the first station where we got off the train - Aizu-Kawaguchi. We visited 2 Hot Springs in this town. The
3rd shot shows me walking along the highway towards the first 2 Hot Springs. We ended up being offered a ride by a very nice lady. We accepted her offer as it was several kilometers
to where we were going. There were no buses and the only local taxi company was not answering their telephone.
Feb20th020_To
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Feb20th051_
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Feb20th061_To
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The first shot in this row shows the first Hot Spring that we bathed in - Hachi-machi Hot Spring. The 2nd shot is the inside of it - as you can see, we were the only visitors at
this time. The 3rd photo shows Hachi-machi Hot Spring from the bridge which crossed the river. The 2nd hot spring is on the other side of the river.
Feb20th065_
HachimachiOnsenRC
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Kawaguchi33_HachiMachiHSRC
Feb20th084_
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Here is the 2nd hot spring - this is Tama-nashi Hot Spring - this photo was also taken from the bridge. The 2nd shot shows the building the hot spring is housed in. The 3rd
shot is the hot spring itself. Notice that both of these hot springs contain lots of iron. Most of the hot springs we visit contain lots of sulfur and we leave them smelling of sulfur. After
bathing in these hot springs, however, we smelled of iron.
Kawaguchi35_TamaNashiHSRC
Kawaguchi40_TamaNashiHSRC
Feb20th108_
TamanashiOnsenRC
After the above 2 hot springs we were able to find a bus which we took back to Aizu-Kawaguchi Station. We ate lunch near the station and then we hitchhiked to another hot
spring. The first shot shows the small side-road road to Yugura Hot Springs. The 2nd photo shows the building and the 3rd shot shows Yugura Hot Spring itself. This one was VERY hot.
Feb20th113_
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The first shot in this row was taken from the window of Yugura Hot Spring. The 2nd photo shows some HEAVY snow at Honna Station, where we walked to from Yugura Hot
Spring. From there we were able to take a train to Aizu-Yokota, where Kazuya had made reservations at a Minshuku. The owner of the Minshuku picked us up at Aizu-Yokota Station.
Feb20th127_
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Feb20th137
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Feb20th146_
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The first photo in this row shows the train as it left Aizu-Yokota Station. After we got checked into the Minshuku we took a walk to a neighborhood Sparkling Water Well!! The
2nd photo was taken along the road to the well. The 3rd shot is the Sparkling Water Bottling Works.
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Feb20th153_
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_Kazuya_Snow_54RC
The first photo in this row shows the Sparkling Water Bottle - it is called Awa-Shin-Sui. We could not find any to buy so I found this photo on the internet and borrowed it. We
were, however, able to drink Sparkling Water directly from the well. Unfortunately we did not take any empty bottles with us and we did not even have a cup, but we were able to scoop
water up in our hands and drink it that way. It was very delicious. The posters we found (and neglected to photograph) indicated that this water won some gold awards in 2008 and
2009. The 2nd and 3rd photos show the well - you can see bubbles coming up and if you look closely at the photos you see some interesting colors. The water was an equal to Perrier in
our opinions.
Feb20_AizuYokota_Oshio_
SparklingWaterWell_58RC
SparklingWaterWell_59RC
AwaShinSui
- Sparkling Water Bottle
The first thing in this row is a Sparkling Water Well MPG movie. It is only 2,041 kilobytes in size. If this movie does not work on your PC then there is a Miscellaneous
page where you can download a version which is appropriate for your connection speed and computer or iPhone or whatever HERE. You can hear the bubbles coming to the surface quite
easily. It was quite loud. Amazing! The 2nd shot is Kazuya leaning over the well. The 3rd shot shows the trail to the well.
SparklingWaterWell_60
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continuation of this weekend's adventure. By the way, the Misc. page shown to the right is a page with
the Sparkling Water Well movie referred to in Row 11.
Go To Page:
Go To Page:
This page begins with February 21st as we leave the Minshuku at Aizu-Yokota and continues through the
end of that trip - which was the final adventure of the month. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
Begin February 21st
On February 21st we got up and it was a sunny day! The first shot in this row was taken out of the window of the Minshuku where we stayed overnight - the Tadami River.
The 2nd shot is a series of "fish prints" of some kind of fish. Kazuya told me the name but I forgot. He also said that each print had a different person's name on it - so apparently these
fish were caught by guests at the Minshuku during the summer months. The 3rd shot is back at Aizu Yokota Station as we waited for our train to arrive to take us to Koide in Niigata
Prefecture.
Feb21_Minshuku
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Feb21_Minshuku
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Feb21_Aizu_Yokota
Station06RC
And ... here comes our train. The 2nd and 3rd shots are snow scenery shots taken from the window of the train as we traveled to Koide.
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Here are 3 more snow scenery shots taken from the train. That is the Tadami River - and we are riding on the Tadami Line train. This train followed the Tadami River pretty
much the whole way.
Feb21st030_Tadami
LineToKoideRC
Feb21_Aizu_Yokota
_to_Koide_Scenery08RC
Feb21st050_SIP_S_
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And here are 3 more incredible snow scenery shots taken from the windows of the train.
Feb21_Aizu_Yokota_
Feb21st060_TadamiLine
ToKoideRC
ToKoideRC
Here are 2 more snow shots. The first shot is the one which is on the index page for this month - my choice of the "Best Photo of the Month".
ToKoideRC
Feb21_Aizu_Yokota_
And here are the final 2 snow shots. After we arrived at Koide there was nothing worth talking about. We took trains bound for home. We arrived in Koide at 10:13 AM and we
were sitting at home in our living room less than 3 hours later. It was amazing - we rode the Shinkansen from Urawa and at Urawa there was still lots of snow. One stop later - on the
way to Tokyo - there was not even a hint of snow on the ground. It changes that fast as you cross the mountains that block the snow from coming south.
Feb21st122_SIP_
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ToKoideRC
End February 21st, End Page 2, End February 2010's Photos
Here are links to separate web pages. The first link shows some photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos
TV. The 2nd link shows our entire DVD collection in DVD Profiler (if you're asking yourself what might be good to rent for the weekend). The DVD's will be sorted by date purchased.
You can click on the "Title" Column to sort that way if you desire. The 3rd link takes you to a set of pages which show you the FRONT coverart of all of our DVDs.
February 22, 2009 DVD Collection,
& TV Pictures
(new window)
Link to DVD collection in DVD Profiler
Click Here.
(new window)
Our DVD Collection
Front Coverart Pages
Click Here.
(new window)
Kazuya has updated - his blog and it has some truly exquisite photos of all of our adventures! Please
check it out HERE. (Click on the "Studies of Plants and Wildlife" link in the new window.)
Thanks so much for taking the time to look this month. We hope that you found something which you
enjoyed looking at. By the way, the Misc. page shown to the right is a page with the Sparkling Water
Well movie referred to on Page 1, Row 11.
Go To Page:
Go To Page:
This is a Miscellaneous Page of February 2010!
This is a Sparkling Water Well Movie. By clicking on it, a version which is optimized for your connection speed should be downloaded to your computer, iPhone or whatever.
You can hear the bubbles coming to the surface quite easily. It was quite loud. Amazing!
Click to Play
Hope that you enjoyed watching the movie and I hope that it worked correctly for you.
Go To Page:
Google it
✔
✔
"Plum Blossom". A single beautiful red plum blossom.
Taken at Kyodo-No-Mori Park (Bubaigawara). February
26, 2011.
photos
FEBRUARY 2011: TWO Pages This Month FEATURING Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubunsou in Japanese) * Plum Blossoms in Nogawa Park * River Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) * Egret *
Adonis amurensis * "The Tempest" - A Stage Play * Mountain or Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris) (Yama-semi in Japanese) Borrowed Photos * Very Early Cherry Blossoms * Plum
Blossoms at Bubaigawara * 2012 Calendars Preview * More (Click on the Photo or on this text to go directly to the February photos)
Go To Page:
This page begins with February 13th, a trip to Nogawa Park to check on the earliest spring flowers. Then it
jumps to February 19th and "The Tempest" Stage Play. After that comes February 20th - a trip to the Upper
Tama River and three borrowed photos. The final trip of the month was on the 26th - to Bubaigawara for
Plum Blossoms. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
Begin February 13th
On February 13th Kazuya and I went to Nogawa Park to check on the progress of the earliest spring flowers. The order of the photos on this page is strictly chronological as we
wandered around the park. In first position are 2 Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubunsou in Japanese) flowers. The 2nd photo shows a nice clump of Shibateranthis pinnatifida
(Setsubunsou in Japanese) flowers. The 3rd shot shows a very perfect flower - maybe it just opened today and has not had a chance to get rained or snowed on yet.
Feb13_17FR_NogawaPk_
In first position in this row is a small clump of Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubunsou in Japanese) flowers. The 2nd and 3rd shots are of some beautiful Plum Blossoms. We
have not taken many photos of Plum Blossoms yet this spring. We took a few last month - you can see them HERE.
Feb13_35FR_NogawaPk
_Plum_Blossom_RC
Feb13_36FR_NogawaPk
_Plum_Blossom_RC
In this row you can find a Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), an Egret with a very nice reflection and another Kingfisher. This Kingfisher stayed there for a long time and we took
several shots, but these 2 are the best.
Feb13_42FR_NogawaPk
_Kingfisher_RC
Feb13_46FR_NogawaPk
_Kingfisher_RC
Feb13_43FR_Nogawa
Pk_Egret_RC
Here are 2 shots of Adonis amurensis and another shot of a large bunch of Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubunsou in Japanese). Note that the Adonis sp. is a threatened
species, primarily due to plant thieves taking it home for their yards.
Feb13_48FR_Nogawa
Pk_Adonis_sp_RC
Feb13_51FR_Nogawa
Pk_Adonis_sp_RC
Here are 2 final shots of Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubunsou in Japanese). The first shot is another near perfect flower. The 2nd shot shows 3 cute little buds just opening.
On February 19th, Sunday, Kazuya and I went to a play called The Tempest. It is a Romanesque Story of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The Ryukyu Kingdom was the islands now
known collectively as Okinawa. The Ryukyu Kingdom thrived from about the 16th to the 19th centuries. You can find very many articles on the history of the Ryukyu Kingdom through
Google. The play was excellent and we had the very best seats in the house. One of my students these days is a producer of Stage Plays and he was the producer of this one. We
discussed this play in our class several times and I told him I would like to see it. He gave me an invitation and I accepted it. That is how we ended up with the very best seats in the
entire theater. The price for the public was ¥10,500 or about $128. If you would like to see a few more images you can go to the Tempest Website HERE (new window). The pages are in
Japanese Language.
Feb19_Tempest2_R.jpg
Feb19_Tempest1_R.jpg
Feb19_TempestGallery_R.jpg
On February 20th, Sunday, Kazuya and I went out to Sawai on the Ome Train Line to try and find a new kind of bird for us - the Mountain or Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle
lugubris) (Yama-semi in Japanese). We arrived at Sawai and walked down to the Tama River and when we opened our backpacks to get our cameras out ---- I forgot my camera! I
brought batteries, the Tele-extender lens, lens hood and everything except the camera - DOH! Well, I brought my nice Leitz 10 x 40 binoculars anyway, so I could enjoy actually seeing
the bird, if we could find it. Kazuya had his camera, so he could take photos of it. We found the bird - and we found it quite easily. We just looked for some people with huge camera
lenses and went down near them and we could see two of the Mountain Kingfishers! This is an amazing bird. We have searched for it in the past, but we never had any success before.
We were amazed. Kazuya took several photos, but the birds were far away. You can find his photos on his blog. I borrowed these photos just to show you what we saw. The first 2
photos are borrowed from Wikipedia. The first image is a male bird and the 2nd image is a female bird. The 3rd photo was borrowed from http://photozou.jp and it is a female bird. We
hope to go out to Sawai again next weekend and I'll do my best to remember my camera!
Megaceryle_lugubris_
Crested_Kingfisher1_R
Megaceryle_lugubris_
Crested_Kingfisher2_R.jpg
Megaceryle_lugubris_Crested
_Kingfisher5_Crop_R.jpg
On February 26th Kazuya and I went to Fuchu City. We walked from our apartment to Shin-Koganei Station, took a train from there to Koremasa and then walked to the
Suntory Musashino Brewery. On the way to the Brewery we saw the very early cherry blossoms shown in the first photo. We took the special 1.5 hour tour at the brewery and that tour
included 3 glasses of free beer. We had 1 glass of the regular Suntory Premium Malts Beer and 2 glasses of the Suntory Premium Malts Black Beer. The Black beer is generally only
available if you go to a fancy restaurant, but they sell it in the stores one month of the year and we discovered it when it was in the stores in October of last year. It is SO DELICIOUS!
Their English website is HERE (new window). The Black Beer is not shown on that page, but the 3rd image in this row shows the cans of their Regular Premium Malts Beer and their
Black Premium Malts Beer. After we finished our Brewery tour we walked to Bubaigawara Plum Tree Park. The Plum Blossoms are still not at their peak, but it was nice (Next Row).
Feb26_09_
Bubaigawara_Cherry_RC
Feb26_16_Suntory
BreweryTour_DarkBeer_RC
Suntory Premium Malts
Light Beer & Dark Beer Cans
Here are 3 shots of the Plum Blossoms at Bubaigawara. There were many blossoms, but the trees were not yet "filled with color" as they will be in a week or two.
Feb26_23_Bubaigawara
_WhitePlumBlossom_RC
_RedPlumBlossom_RC
_RedPlumBlossom_RC
And, here are the final 3 shots of Plum Blossoms.
_RedPlumBlossom_RC
By the way, we DID return to the Tama River on February 27th in search of the Mountain Kingfisher
so that I could get some pictures taken by myself (see Row 7 above). The bird did not show up, even
though I remembered to take my camera and everything, even the tripod!
conclusion of this month.
Go To Page:
Go To Page:
This page shows you some of the work I have been doing during the month of February to keep myself busy
during the cold weekends when we have not done much. I've been creating collages and making 2012
Calendars already. This is a preview of what is already available for 2012! You can take a look at and/or
download the 2012 calendars which are already available HERE (new window). You CANNOT download any
calendars from THIS page, you must go to the 2012 Calendars Page (link above) to do that, this is just to show you
what I've been working on. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
Begin 2012 Calendars Now Available
A 2 Page Calendar with a Bird photo [Daurian Redstart or Jobitaki in Japanese (Phoenicurus auroreus)] on the January to June side and Red Maple Fall Color photo on the July
to December side.
Calendar #1
Calendar #1
Phoenicurus auroreus
January to June Side
Calendar #1
Chofu Park - Fall Colors
July to December Side
A 2 Page Calendar with 6 Violets images (Viola grypoceras f. variegata, V. kusanoana, V. orientalis, V. biflora, V. diffusa and V. brevistipulata) on the January to June side and
another 6 Violets images (V. mirabilis var. subglabra, V. vaginata, V. bisseti (bissetii), V. mandshurica, V. yezoensis f. discolor and V. rostrata) on the July to December side.
Calendar #2
Calendar #2
6 Violets
Calendar #2
6 Violets
A 2 Page Calendar. The images on this Violets calendar are ALL DIFFERENT than on the calendar just above. The 8 Violets images on the January to June side are Viola
selkirkii, V. violacea var. makinoi, V. sieboldi f. variegata, V. tokubuchiana var. takedana f. variegata, V. obtusa, V. maximowicziana, V. verecunda f. violacens and V. kamtschadalorum.
The 8 Violets images on the July to December side are V. japonica #1 & V. japonica #2, V. eizanensis, V. keiskei, V. x taradakensis var. eizalacea, V. phalacrocarpa f. glaberrima, V.
variegata var. variegata and V. hirtipes).
Calendar #3
Calendar #3
8 Violets
Calendar #3
8 Violets
A 2 Page Calendar with 6 images of Mt. Fuji on the January to June side and 6 images of Fall Colors at Mitake on the July to December side.
Calendar #4
Calendar #4
6 Views of Mt. Fuji
Calendar #4
6 Views of Mitake Ginkgo
A 2 Page Calendar with 2 images taken in Daisetsuzan National Park on the January to June side and 2 different images taken in Daisetsuzan National Park on the July to
December side.
Calendar #5
Calendar #5
Daisetsuzan Mountains
Calendar #5
Daisetsuzan Mountains
A 2 Page Calendar with 2 images of the Tateyama Mountains on the January to June side and 2 different images of the Tateyama Mountains on the July to December side.
Calendar #6
Calendar #6
Tateyama Mountains
Calendar #6
Tateyama Mountains
A 2 Page Calendar with 2 images of the Hakuba Mountains on the January to June side and 2 different images of the Hakuba Mountains on the July to December side.
Calendar #7
Calendar #7
Hakuba Mountains
Calendar #7
Hakuba Mountains
A 2 Page Calendar with several flower images on the January to June side and several different flower images on the July to December side.
Calendar #8
Calendar #8
Several Flowers
Calendar #8
Several Flowers
End 2012 Calendars Now Available, End Page 2, End February 2011
Here are links to separate web pages - all of them will open in a new window (or new tab). The first link shows some photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our
Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV. The 2nd link shows our entire DVD collection in DVD Profiler (if you're asking yourself what might be good to rent for the
weekend). The DVD's will be sorted by date purchased. You can click on the "Title" Column to sort that way if you desire. The 3rd link shows our entire DVD collection in php DVD
Profiler, which is much more sophisticated than the plain vanilla DVD Profiler just above it. The 4th link takes you to a set of pages which show you the FRONT cover-art of our entire
DVD collection.
February 22, 2009 - DVD Collection & Home Theater System
Please check it out by clicking on the above button.
(Click on the "Studies of Plants and Wildlife" link in the new window.)
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only search Kazuya's Blog site
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something which you enjoyed. You can use the e-mail link below to respond with any feedback you
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"Winter Pampas Grass". Taken in Jindai Botanical
Garden. February 5, 2012.
photos
FEBRUARY 2012: ONE Page This Month FEATURING Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubunsou in Japanese) * Alcedo atthis (River Kingfisher) (Kawa-semi in Japanese) * A Cormorant * Sasa
veitchii var. veitchii (Bamboo Grass) * Cortaderia selloana (Pampas Grass) * Adonis amurensis * Chimonanthus praecox f. concolor (Roubai in Japanese) * Hamamelis sp. * More (Click on
the Photo or on this text to go directly to the February photos)
This page begins with February 5th and a trip to Jindai Botanical Garden on our bicycles. Then we jump to
February 12th and a trip to Nogawa Park on our bicycles. After that there is nothing else! I caught a bad
cold, which kept us at home for one weekend, and then it rained the following weekend, which also kept us
at home. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
Begin February 5th
On February 5th Kazuya and I went to Jindai Botanical Garden to check on the progress of early spring flowers. One thing we very much expected to see was the first of the
Plum Blossoms. In most years the first of the Plum Blossoms occur in the later part of January. We know that this is a cold winter and that everything is late, but we were not prepared
for what we found at the Plum Garden at Jindai Botanical Garden! We found less than 5 Plum Blossoms open! Therefore, there are no photos of Plum Blossoms from this date. What you
see here, in first position is Setsubunsou in Japanese, Shibateranthis pinnatifida in Latin. In most years we show you the first of this flower with the late January photos too, not this year
though. In addition, this one is in a flower pot. The 2nd and 3rd shots are a River Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis, waiting for a small fish or freshwater shrimp to come by.
Feb05_02_JindaiBG_
Feb05_03_JindaiBG
_Alcedo_atthis_RC
Feb05_06_JindaiBG
_Alcedo_atthis_RC
Feb05_08_JindaiBG
_Alcedo_atthis_RC
Feb05_11_JindaiBG
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Here are 3 more shots of the River Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis).
Feb05_07_JindaiBG
_Alcedo_atthis_RC
Here are 2 shots of a cormorant that was sitting there and the 3rd shot is a shot of Sasa veitchii var. veitchii - what we call bamboo grass.
Feb05_13_Jindai
BG_Cormorant_RC
Feb05_14_Jindai
BG_Cormorant_RC
Feb05_17_JindaiBG_Sasa
_veitchii_var_veitchii_RC
Here is another shot of Sasa veitchii var. veitchii (bamboo grass) followed by a shot of Pampas Grass Cortaderia solloana and then a shot of one flower of Adonis amurensis. In
most years this flower is becoming rather common by this date in February - this year this single flower was all we found of it.
Feb05_22_JindaiBG_Sasa
_veitchii_var_veitchii_RC
damage.
Feb05_23_JindaiBG_
Cortaderia_selloana_RC
Feb05_25_JindaiBG_
Adonis_amurensis_RC
The Roubai (Chimonanthus praecox f. concolor) was in bloom, but the majority of the flowers were damaged by frost. Here are a very few flowers which are not showing frost
Feb05_35_JindaiBG_Chimonanthus
_praecox_f_concolor_RC
Feb05_38_JindaiBG_Chimonanthus
_praecox_f_concolor_RC
The Hamamalis sp. was just barely starting to bloom - as you can see in these 2 shots. And, that's all we found on February 5th.
Feb05_40_JindaiBG
_Hamamelis_sp_RC
Feb05_42_JindaiBG
_Hamamelis_sp_RC
Now it's February 12th and we took a bicycle ride to Nogawa Park to again check on the progress of early spring flowers. As you can see, we DID find Shibateranthis pinnatifida
(Setsubunsou in Japanese) in the wild (as opposed to growing in a pot as in Row #1). We also found one small clump of Adonis amurensis in bloom. The single Plum tree growing in the
wild plants area of Nogawa Park still had no flowers!
Feb12_01_NogawaPark_
Feb12_02_NogawaPark_
Feb12_11_Nogawa
Park_Adonis_sp_RC
End February 12th, End Page 1, End February 2012's Photos
DVD collection.
February 22, 2009 - DVD Collection & Home Theater System
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"Spring Allergy Time." Hikage Creek Cedar Pollen Sacs.
Oh my! February 23rd.
photos
FEBRUARY 2013: TWO Pages This Month FEATURING A February 3rd Climb of Mt. Takao * A February 9th Visit to Nogawa Park for Early Spring Flowers * A Hawfinch (Coccothraustes
coccothraustes) * A Japanese Chickadee (Parus minor) * Adonis amurensis Flowers * Shibateranthis pinnatifida Flowers * Chimonanthus praecox Flowers * Symplocarpus foetidus Flowers * A
February 23rd Climb of Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-Yama * Snow * Scenery * Chrysosplenium album var. stamineum Buds * Cedar Forest * Two Different Unknown Birds * The First Violets of the
Season - Viola grypoceras * A Pile of Black Bear Scat (Probably) * Snow in the Hardwood Forest * The First Cymbidium goeringii Orchid Buds * Links to 2014 Print Edition Calendars & also PDF
Calendars * More (Click on the Photo or on this text to go directly to the February photos)
Go To Page:
This page begins with February 3rd and shows you all 3 photos taken on that date. Then we jump to
February 9th and a trip to Nogawa Park in a quest for the first spring flowers. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
Begin February 3rd
On February 3rd I went out and climbed Mt. Takao (599 m = 1,965 ft) for the 88th time and then continued on to Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-yama (670 m = 2,199 ft) for the 36th
time (Kazuya had to work that day). Here are 3 photos taken from the summit of Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-yama, as we've never shown you any photos similar to these. The first two are
looking back from Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-yama to Mt. Takao. The 3rd photo shows the Hikage Creek Road, which obviously follows Hikage Creek down from the summit of Mt. KobotokeShiro-yama to a bus stop from where one can take a bus back to Takao Station. Along that sunny clear-cut area is where we often find our first Violets of the spring.
Feb03_1_From
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Feb03_2_From
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Feb03_3_From
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End February 3rd, Begin February 9th
On February 9th Kazuya and I bicycled to Nogawa Park in a quest for the first spring flowers. We were successful in our quest too! But, first, here are some bird shots. The
first 2 shots are Coccothraustes coccothraustes or Hawfinch - a pretty bird. The 3rd shot is a Japanese Chickadee (Parus minor). These things move around so quickly that it's a real
challenge to capture a shot of one. They are quite common, but 99.9% of the time, by the time I get my camera turned on they are gone!
Feb9th_NogawaPark001_
Coccothraustes_coccothraustes_HawfinchRC
Feb09_74_NogawaPk_Coccothraustes
_coccothraustes_HawfinchRC
Feb09_76_NogawaPk_Japanese
Chickadee_Parus_minorRC
The first 2 shots in this row show Adonis amurensis - a very bright yellow early spring flower. There are only 3 or 4 plants here in Nogawa Park. The 3rd shot is what we were
really wanting to find. This is Shibateranthis pinnatifida or Setsubun-sou in Japanese. Setsubun is the "Bean-Throwing Festival" or "Bean-Throwing Ceremony". It is the day before the
beginning of Spring in Japan. The name literally means "seasonal division", but usually the term refers to the Spring Setsubun, properly called Risshun, celebrated yearly on February 3
as part of the Spring Festival. This flower (Sou) is called the Setsubun flower because it generally can be found on or near Setsubun.
Feb09_05_NogawaPk
_Adonis_amurensisRC
Feb09_57_NogawaPk
_Adonis_amurensisRC
This is a VERY good year for Setsubun-sou (Shibateranthis pinnatifida). We found more here than ever before I think. And, there were some really nice ones. Unfortunately we
hit here just when it was most difficult to get good pictures due to the sun angle. We want to come again earlier in the morning.
Feb09_01_NogawaPk_
Feb09_02_NogawaPk_
Three more Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubun-sou) shots. So, a little more information about Setsubun. The custom of Mamemaki (bean throwing) first appeared in the
Muromachi period. It can be performed by any member of the household. Roasted soybeans (called "fortune beans") are thrown either out the door or at a member of the family wearing
an Oni (demon or ogre) mask, while the people say "Demons out! Luck in!" and slam the door. This is still common practice in households. The beans are thought to symbolically purify
the home by driving away the evil spirits that bring misfortune and bad health with them. Then, as part of bringing luck in, it is customary to eat roasted soybeans, one for each year of
one's life, and in some areas, one for each year of one's life plus one more for bringing good luck for the year to come.
Feb09_10_NogawaPk_
And, another three Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubun-sou) shots. And, the Setsubun story continues. It is customary in some areas to eat uncut special sushi rolls in silence
on Setsubun while facing the year's lucky compass direction (it was SSE this year), determined by the zodiac symbol of the year. This custom started in Osaka, but in recent years,
thanks to modern marketing methods, these special sushi rolls can be purchased at stores in other areas and it is becoming more recognized as a part of Setsubun tradition.
Feb09_15_NogawaPk_
Feb09_18_NogawaPk_
Feb09_24_NogawaPk_
And, another three Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubun-sou) shots.
Feb09_20_NogawaPk_
Feb09_32_NogawaPk_
The final shot of Shibateranthis pinnatifida (Setsubun-sou) and then 2 shots of Chimonanthus praecox or Roubai in Japanese. This is another yellow early spring flower.
Feb09_37_NogawaPk_
Chimonanthus_praecoxRC
Feb09_55_NogawaPk_
Here are 2 additional shots of Chimonanthus praecox or Roubai in Japanese.
Feb09_56_NogawaPk_
Here are the final 3 photos we'll show you from this date in Nogawa Park. This is a type of Skunk Cabbage - Symplocarpus foetidus or Zazen-sou in Japanese.
Feb09_65_NogawaPk_
Symplocarpus_foetidusRC
Feb09_65_NogawaPk_
Feb09_68_NogawaPk_
continuation of this month's adventures. Page 2 begins with February 23rd.
(will open in new window)
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This page begins with February 23rd and a trip out to Takao and a hike up the Hikage Creek road; lunch at
Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-yama and then a hike down a new trail - the Hikage Creek Ridge trail. Click on any
thumbnail to begin.
Begin February 23rd
As the header says, on Saturday, February 23rd, Kazuya and I went out to Takao and then took a bus to the Hikage Creek Bus Stop. From there we hiked down to Hikage
Creek to check on the status of the Chrysosplenium album var. stamineum. As you can see in the first photo, it is budding, but it's still going to be a while before the flowers open. The
2nd shot shows you the amount of snow on the Hikage Creek Road - we did not expect this. This is the most snow we've ever seen here. The 3rd shot shows a small part of the Cedar
Forest which covers this area. You can see that this year is going to be a very terrible year for people with pollen allergies. All of that orange color is Cedar Pollen Sacs and in a few
weeks the pollen is going to start blowing around. Many people are already complaining about their allergies.
Feb23rdHikage003_
ChrysospleniumAlbumVStamineumRC
Feb23_10_HikageCreek
_CedarPollenSacsRC
Feb23rd
Hikage006SnowRC
Here are 3 shots of birds. The first shot is a Japanese Accentor (Prunella rubida) or Kayakuguri in Japanese - it is indigenous to Japan. The 2nd and 3rd shots are of a different
bird - a Gabichou in Japanese (Garrulax canorus) (the Chinese Hwamei or Melodious Laughingthrush). I am told that it is a very popular cagebird in China due to it's beautiful song.
Feb23_12_Hikage
Creek_BirdRC
Feb23rdHikage
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Feb23rdHikage
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Well, well! We found the very first violets of the season today. Up near the top of the road, where the sun shines on the hillside we found these specimens of Viola grypoceras.
Spring is coming!!
Feb23rdHikage020_
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_Viola_grypocerasRC
Feb23rdHikage017_
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Here is a final shot of Viola grypoceras. The 2nd shot is looking from the Hikage Creek Road to I-Ccho-Daira, which we have shown you many photos of over the years. The 3rd
shot was taken from the summit of Mt. Kobotoke-Shiro-yama (670 m = 2,199 ft). Today we ended up hiking down that ridge which you see extending from the left edge of the photo the one with the small patch of hardwoods on it. We never even realized that there was a trail there; we just discovered it today. It's a nice trail. By the way, this is the same ridge
which you can see on Page 1 - the 3rd photo in Row 1.
_Viola_grypocerasRC
_ICchoDairaRC
Feb23rd
Hikage030RC
Oops! What passed by here before us? From the size of the pile it just about had to be a Black Bear. The 2nd and 3rd shots show the snow up on this ridge under the
hardwoods.
_BearScatMaybeRC
Feb23rdHikage
031SnowRC
_HardwoodForestRC
Here are the final 2 shots from this adventure. We found several Cymbidium goeringii orchid plants on this hike and this particular plant has the buds which were expanded the
most. Another indication that spring is coming. In Japanese this Orchid is called "Shun Ran" which translates as Spring Orchid.
Feb23_26_HikageCreek_
Cymbidium_goeringiiRC
Feb23_27_HikageCreek_
End February 23rd, End Page 2, End February 2013's Photos
DVD collection.
January 1, 2013 - DVD Collection & Home Theater System
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Click a button below if you don't want to go to the newest photos. Click on the photo to go to the newest pages.
"Heaviest Tokyo Snow in 45 Years" - Our Apartment Parking Lot. February 8th, 10:43 PM.
FEBRUARY 2014: TWO Pages This Month FEATURING February 8th Porch Snow * Heaviest Snow in Tokyo in 45 Years * Heavy Snow Photos * February 15th - 2nd Snow Storm Again the Heaviest in 45 Years * Mitake Area Heavy Snow * Okutama Area Heavy Snow * Links to 2014 & 2015 Calendars * More (Click on the Photo or on this text to go
directly to the February photos)
2014!
Go To Page:
This page begins with February 8th and some photos of Tokyo's heaviest snow in 45 years! Then - one
week later - on February 15th we had another amazing storm, which AGAIN dropped the most snow in 45
years. All of the photos were taken close to home. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
Begin February 8th
If you live in a place where it snows a lot then this month's photos may not interest you much beyond seeing what Tokyo considers a lot of snow. For us, though,
this was the heaviest snowfall in 45 years! On Friday, February 7th we had a "Heavy Snow" warning - first I had ever seen in my 13 years in Tokyo. On Saturday the 8th it
was snowing when we got up in the morning. The three photos in this row shows our porch "garden" at around 9:55 AM on Saturday.
Feb08_1_
PorchSnowRC
Feb08_3_4_Porch
Snow_Panorama_SIPRC
Feb08_5_
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Here is what things looked like at around 2:00 PM. The first photo shows our porch Cymbidium goeringii orchid. The 2nd photo is zoomed in to the neighbor's roof
and the 3rd shot shows our porch Rosemary plant.
Feb08_9_
PorchSnowRC
Feb08_7_
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Feb08_6_PorchSnowRC
Here are 3 more shots of the neighbor's roof at about 2:00 PM. It has already accumulated to be more snow than we've ever seen here.
Feb08_10_
PorchSnowRC
Feb08_8_
PorchSnowRC
Now it's 10:40 PM! You can see that we might not be able to open our door in the morning!
Feb08_11_
PorchSnowRC
Feb08_12_
PorchSnowRC
Feb08_13_
PorchSnowRC
Feb08_14_
PorchSnowRC
These 3 shots were also taken at about 10:40 PM. The center image is a panorama created from the photos on either side of it. It did not come out very good as
the 2 photos were not shot with the intention of creating a panorama, but that panorama came out okay anyway.
Feb08_16_17_Porch
Snow_PanoramaRC
Feb08_16_
PorchSnowRC
Feb08_17_
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These 3 shots were also taken at around 10:40 PM. They show our apartment parking lot. Somebody has been industrious enough to shovel a path so that the
snow depth shows up very nicely. At this point there are warnings on the TV to stay at home and several screens which show the train lines which are stopped due to snow.
On Sunday morning when we got up it had stopped and there was not much more than when we had taken the photos at 10:40 PM. The Japan Today website news articles
about this storm are HERE. The first page article is datelined February 9, 7:00 PM. This is followed by reader's comments - some of which are interesting. An earlier article
begins on page 4 - datelined February 8, 8:00 PM. It also includes reader comments.
Feb08_18_
PorchSnowRC
Feb08_19_
PorchSnowRC
Feb08_21_
PorchSnowRC
Well, the same thing happened beginning on Friday, February 14th. It snowed even more than it did the previous week, but it was again reported as the heaviest
snowfall in 45 years. That storm 45 years ago must have been a real killer! It was snowing when we got up on the 14th and snowed ALL DAY without ever stopping even
briefly. It started raining during the night of the 14th though, and when we got up in the morning on the 15th it was raining and melting rapidly. The first shot in this row
was taken at 11:35 AM - after I had removed the snow from our entryway walk, as shown in the 2nd photo. The 3rd shot shows the snow on a car in our apartment parking
lot.
Feb15_1_
HeavySnowRC
Feb15_4_
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Feb15_2_
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These 2 shots show the street which runs by our apartment. The first shot is looking to the south and the 2nd shot is looking to the north. In both shots you can
see people shoveling snow. Tokyo has no snow removal equipment. It generally only snows about 1 or 2 inches during an entire winter, so it's really not economically feasible
to buy snow removal equipment.
Feb15_5_
HeavySnowRC
Feb15_6_
HeavySnowRC
These final 2 shots show our apartment parking lot and the piles of snow! By the way, after this 2nd storm in 1 week, some train lines were closed for the entire
following week.
Feb15_7_
HeavySnowRC
Feb15_8_
HeavySnowRC
Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 2 for some
out of town snow photos.
Go To Page:
If you would like to donate to our hiking & traveling fund or show your appreciation for our efforts you can donate through PayPal. A
single donation will entitle you to request a single full-sized photo IN THE DONATION MONTH - which you may then use as a desktop
wallpaper or whatever. The copyright will be retained by us and the photo will be inconspicuously marked with the copyright symbol (©),
year and photographer's name. (Donation probably not tax deductible.)
2014!
Go To Page:
This page begins and ends with February 22nd and a trip out to the Mitake and Okutama Areas. After the
snowfall of February 15th the train line from Ome to Okutama was stopped for 7 days. The 22nd was the
first day this train had operated since the evening of the 15th! We were fortunate to be able to come out
and see this much snow. Not many people were out walking around. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
Begin February 22nd
As it says up above, after that heavy snowfall of February 15th, the Ome Line train was stopped from Ome to Okutama. That line is the one we use to go to
Mitake, Sawai and Okutama - names which you often see on these pages. It opened from Ome to Mitake on February 21st and then on Saturday morning, the 22nd, when
we checked the status on the internet, it was reported that it was open all the way to Okutama again! We therefore decided to go out and see the snow! The first photo in
this row was taken by Kazuya from the train window and it shows the terrible looking clearcuts as we approach Mitake. The 2nd shot shows 2 trains sitting at Mitake Station
and shows a lot of snow on the station platform! The 3rd shot shows a portion of the UGLY Mitake Clearcut as seen from Mitake Station.
Feb22nd_11_FromTrain
EnrouteMitakeRC
Feb22_01_Mitake
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Three more images of the UGLY Mitake clearcut. What a blight on nature. And, did they have to make it so huge? I've been waiting for a record rainfall to supersaturate that mountainside with water and then send the entire thing careening down on to the houses and highway at the base of it.
Feb22_09_10_12_Panorama_
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Here is one more shot of that clearcut and then a shot of the Mitake Bridge over the Tama River. Of course you can see the clearcut from here too - you can see it
from everywhere in the area. The 3rd shot was taken looking downstream from the bridge. In the 13 years I have lived in Japan I have never seen more than an inch of
snow along this riverside.
Feb22_12_Mitake
Feb22nd_33_Mitake
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Feb22nd_36_Mitake
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The first shot in this row was taken looking upstream from the Mitake Bridge. The 2nd shot shows the bank of the Tama River and shows lots of snow! The 3rd
shot shows the steps which lead down to the river from near the bus stop in Mitake.
Feb22nd_39_Mitake
WalkingToRiverRC
Feb22_17_TamaRiver_Mitake_
SawaiHeavySnowRC
Feb22nd_47_Mitake_
TamaRiver_SnowRC
We have not taken any photos of the naked guy statue at Sawai in several years now, so here are 2 of them - in 1st and 3rd position. You always see statues of
naked women in parks and other places, but never any statues of naked guys - did you ever wonder why? The center shot was taken from about the same spot where we
always take photos of the Famous Mitake Ginkgo Tree in the autumn. The tree which is embossed is the Ginkgo Tree. If you don't know what we are talking about them you
can see one photo of it HERE and more photos of it starting HERE.
Feb22nd_53_Mitake_
TamaRiver_SnowRC
Feb22nd_81_SawaiTama
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Feb22_28_TamaRiver_Mitake
_SawaiNakedGuyRC
Here's the final photo taken as we hiked along the river from Mitake to Sawai. This is looking upstream along the Tama River. You'll note that they even clearcut
right down to the river along this area. Could they have possibly have had any esthetic considerations in mind when they decided to do this? Well, the answer is obvious isn't
it? After we finished up our hike from Mitake to Sawai and then ate lunch and drank some sake at the Sawanoi Sake Brewery we took a train from Sawai to the end of the
line at Okutama. The center photo shows Okutama Station with a large pile of snow in front of it. The 3rd shot was taken as we looked downstream from the Okutama Bridge
over the Tama River.
Feb22_24_TamaRiver_Mitake
_SawaiHeavySnowRC
Feb22_32_Okutama
AreaHeavySnowRC
Feb22_34_Okutama
AreaHeavySnowRC
Here are the final 2 shots for this month - taken as we looked upstream on the Tama River from the Okutama Bridge. The 2nd shot is zoomed in to the pedestrian
bridge over the river - the snow is pretty deep on that bridge.
Feb22_35_Okutama
AreaHeavySnowRC
Feb22_36_Okutama
AreaHeavySnowRC
End February 22nd, End February 2014's Photos, Begin Miscellaneous
Here are links to separate web pages - all of them will open in a new window (or new tab). The first link shows some photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie
of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV. The 2nd link shows our entire DVD collection in DVD Profiler (if you're asking yourself what might be
good to rent for the weekend). The DVD's will be sorted by date purchased. You can click on the "Title" Column to sort that way if you desire. The 3rd link shows our entire
DVD collection in php DVD Profiler, which is much more sophisticated than the plain vanilla DVD Profiler just above it. The 4th link takes you to a set of pages which show
you the FRONT cover-art of our entire DVD collection.
HERE IS
Google Search
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Here is a small hint to let you know that we'd be thrilled to have you buy one of our books. For additional information regarding
any title (and in some cases DISCOUNT CODES) please click the "General Information" tab on the "Our Books" button down at
the bottom of this page.
An animated gif of some
of our publications
(32 seconds)
An animated gif of our
Climbing a Few of Japan's
100 Famous Mountains Series
(10 seconds)
We support
Image From the Imagination and
Graphic
Thanks so much for taking the time to look at the website this month, hope you enjoyed seeing
photos of the heaviest snowfall in the Tokyo Area in 45 years.
Go To Page:
wallpaper or whatever. The copyright will be retained by us and the photo will be inconspicuously marked with the copyright symbol (©),
year and photographer's name. (Donation probably not tax deductible.)
Google Search
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Photos of Japan - we generally post the best photos from this month
on the first of next month.
"Skunk Cabbage" - At Nogawa Park. February 1st, 11:42 AM.
FEBRUARY 2015: ONE Page This Month FEATURING A Trip to Nogawa Park * Some Birds * Shibateranthis pinnatifida - Setsubun-sou in Japanese * Symplocarpus foetidus - Zazensou in Japanese - A Type of Skunk Cabbage * Adonis sp. * Chimonanthus praecox - Roubai in Japanese * Field with a bit of snow * Cymbidium goeringii Seedhead - Shun-ran in Japanese
* Sapindus mukurossi Tree & Seeds * A Lily Seedhead - Yuba Yuri (Old Women's Lily) in Japanese * More (Click on the Photo or on this text to go directly to the February
photos)
This page begins and ends with February 1st, 2015. Our only outing during the entire month of February
was a trip on our bicycles to the Nogawa Park Natural Area to check out the progress of spring flowers. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
Begin February 1st
As the header says, we went, via bicycle, to the Nogawa Park Natural Area on February 1st. In first position in this row is a bird -
this is a Bull-headed Shrike (Mozu in
Japanese) - a year-round resident
of Tokyo. The second shot is one of the first signs of spring for us -
a Shibateranthis pinnatifida - Setsubun-sou in Japanese. We were a bit
surprised to find them at such a state of blooming, we were expecting to see a few, but not as many as we saw. The third shot is a Symplocarpus foetidus - Zazen-sou in
Japanese - A Type of Skunk Cabbage. We were also surprised to find this so pretty already.
Feb01_05_Nogawa
Pk_BirdRC
Feb01_08_NogawaPk_
Feb1st_21_NogawaPark_
ShibateranthisPinnatifidaRC
The first shot in this row gives you a better idea of the extent of the Shibateranthis pinnatifida
- Setsubun-sou in Japanese - which was already in bloom. The second
shot is another bird - this is a Dusky Thrush (Tsugimi in Japanese). They migrate here from Siberia and will be gone back home by May. (Thanks to Norm F. for both of these
bird names.) The third shot shows an Adonis sp. in bloom. There are only 3 or 4 Adonis plants here.
Feb01_09_Nogawa
Pk_BirdRC
Feb01_14_Nogawa
Pk_AdonisRC
All three shots in this row show Shibateranthis pinnatifida
- Setsubun-sou in Japanese. The outlined area in the first shot shows the portion that was cropped out to
create the second image.
Feb01_18_NogawaPk_
Feb01_18Part_NogawaPk
_Shibateranthis_pinnatifidaRC
In first position is the final shot of Shibateranthis pinnatifida - Setsubun-sou in Japanese. The second and third images show the blossoms of Chimonanthus praecox Roubai in Japanese. By the end of the month this species has already dropped most of its flowers.
Feb1st_38_Nogawa
Park_RoubaiRC
Feb1st_39_Nogawa
Park_RoubaiRC
In first position in this row is a photo of the main "field" in the Natural Area of Nogawa Park. Note the light coating of snow. This was the most we have had on the
ground during this 2014 - 2015 winter season. The second and third shots show a seedhead of the Cymbidium goeringii
Orchid - Shun-ran (Spring Orchid) in Japanese. It seems
that seedheads
of this species are quite rare. Whatever insect pollinates this species must be in short supply when it is blooming. If you recall, we have this species growing in
our porch garden and over the years, despite the fact that the plants can have 45 - 60 flowers each spring, we have only had two seedheads on our porch. The most recent
photo of our porch plant is HERE.
Feb1st_68_Nogawa
Park_FieldRC
Feb01_52_NogawaPk_
Feb01_56_NogawaPk_
Both photos in this row show a Sapindus mukurossi (Indian Soapberry) Tree & Seedpods. According to Wikipedia "The
seed pods contain saponins which are a natural
surfactant. They have been used for washing for thousands of years by native peoples in Asia as well as Native Americans. Soapnuts are being considered and used for
commercial use in cosmetics and detergents as well as many other products." We have collected these seedpods and played around with them. They are certainly sticky, and
after you play around with them and then go to wash your hands, the sticky residue on your hands lathers
nicely and removes itself simply by rubbing your hands together.
Feb01_62_NogawaPk_
Feb01_63_NogawaPk_
Sapindus_mukurossiRC
Sapindus_mukurossiRC
Here is the final photo from our one and only outing during February. This photo shows the seedhead of the "Yuba-Yuri" (Old Women's
Lily) in Japanese.
Feb1st_61_NogawaPark
_LilySeedheadRC
End February 1st, End February 2015's Photos, Begin Miscellaneous Links
Here are links to separate web pages - all of them will open in a new window (or new tab). The first link shows some photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of
our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV. The 2nd link shows
our entire DVD collection in DVD Profiler (if you're asking yourself what might be good to
rent for the weekend). The DVD's will be sorted by
date purchased. You can click on the "Title" Column to sort that way if
you desire. The 3rd link shows our entire DVD
collection in php DVD Profiler, which is much more sophisticated than the plain vanilla DVD Profiler just above it. The 4th link takes you to a set of pages which show you the
FRONT cover-art of our entire DVD collection.
HERE IS
Google Search
✔
the bottom of this page. Click on any thumbnail to go to its Amazon.com webpage.
of our publications
(28 seconds)
(28 seconds)
End Miscellaneous Links, End Page 1 of 1, February 2015
Thanks so much for taking the time to look at the website this month.
We hope that you found something which you enjoyed.
You can use the e-mail link below to respond with any feedback you might have.
single donation will entitle you to request a single full-sized photo IN THE DONATION MONTH
- which you may then use as a desktop
wallpaper or whatever. The copyright will be retained by us and the photo will be inconspicuously marked with the copyright symbol
(©), year and photographer's name.
(Donation probably not tax deductible.)
Google Search
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February 2016 - Favorite Image
"Two Years in Paradise: A Peace Corps Philippines Journal" - Sneak Peek at Upcoming Book Cover.
FEBRUARY 2016: ONE Page This Month FEATURING Shibateranthis pinnatifida Flowers (Setsubunsou in Japanese) * A Sneak Peek at a New Book - Two Years in Paradise: A
Peace Corps Philippines Journal - Hoping for Release to the World by June or July 2016 - Expected Length Probably About 500 Pages (Click on the Image or on this text to go
We get 2% of whatever you spend if you go to Amazon from this link so please shop on Amazon from here.
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February 2016 - Favorite Image
"Two Years in Paradise: A Peace Corps Philippines Journal" - Sneak Peek at Upcoming Book Cover.
FEBRUARY 2016: ONE Page This Month FEATURING Shibateranthis pinnatifida Flowers (Setsubunsou in Japanese) * A Sneak Peek at a New Book - Two Years in Paradise: A
Peace Corps Philippines Journal - Hoping for Release to the World by June or July 2016 - Expected Length Probably About 500 Pages (Click on the Image or on this text to go
We get 2% of whatever you spend if you go to Amazon from this link so please shop on Amazon from here.
http://danwiz.com/AllMonthPhotos/temp.php[02/29/2016 7:19:23 PM]
This page begins (and ends) with February 7th and
a trip to Nogawa Park on our bicycles. The only
thing we found that was even slightly picturesque
was the Shibateranthis pinnatifida - Setsubunsou
in Japanese, so that's all there is. After that are
some images of an upcoming new book - Two
Years in Paradise: A Peace Corps Philippines
Journal" which I hope to finish and release by
midsummer 2016. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
Begin February 7th
On February 7th, as stated already, we bicycled to Nogawa Park to check
out the progress of late winter/early spring flowers. The Roubai (see last month) was
finished, only a few dried up old flowers remained. The skunk cabbage was still not in
bloom, the plum blossoms were not significantly different than they were back in
January and we saw no birds to speak of. The only interesting thing we saw was the
Feb07_02_NogawaPk_
Setsubunsou (Shibateranthis pinnatifida). Over the years you have been shown this
earliest spring ground flower many times, and here it is again. The second and third
shots show the same flower, I just moved in closer for the 3rd shot. The first two
shots in the next row are also of this same flower.
Feb07_07_NogawaPk_
Feb07_08_NogawaPk_
Here are two more shots of Shibateranthis pinnatifida - Setsubunsou in Japanese, the same blossom as shown in Row 1, but moving in closer and closer. The third
shot was taken at a different patch of Setsubunsou - there are three separate small patches of it. In this photo please notice the acorn on the left that is beginning to send a root
down and please notice the acorn caps and use them for scale.
Feb07_10_NogawaPk_
Feb07_09_NogawaPk_
Feb07_24_NogawaPk_
End February 7th, Begin New Book Sneak Peek
Here is a Sneak Peek at a book which I am working on and HOPE to have
ready for readers by June or July. The title is Two Years in Paradise: A Peace
Corps Philippines Journal I expect it to end up at about 500 pages or so. The first
image is a mockup of the cover. I am pretty sure that this will be the final cover, but
it's not set in stone, it may still change. The second image is a larger image of the
blurb which will be on the back cover - please feel free to offer feedback. If you see
any grammar, punctuation or spelling errors PLEASE let me know.
PeaceCorpsJournal
_WhiteCoverRC
PeaceCorpsJournal
_BlurbRC
And here are four interior pages. The first image shows pages 212 and 213.
You will note that the book has photos. There will only be about 20 images and they
will be presented in black and white to keep the price reasonable. The second image
shows pages 214 and 215. Note that your name may be found in this book, but only
the initial of your last name; Mark W., Ardis B., Steve A. and so on. Note also that I
have included expenses for each day. Oh, by the way, I am hoping to be able to price
this book at a very reasonable $17.98, but that's going to depend on the number of
pages it ends up being. I know that probably not many of you will be interested in this
Journal, but if you know any Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCV's) or anybody
who hopes to become a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) you might want to let them
know of this upcoming book.
PeaceCorpsJournal
_Page212_213RC
PeaceCorpsJournal
_Page214_215RC
There are actually three covers that I have mocked up for consideration for
this book. Would you like the opportunity to have a say on what the final cover should
be? You can be a part of the selection process simply by clicking on the "E-Mail Us"
Proposed Cover #1
button at the bottom of the page and saying that you prefer cover #1, #2 or #3. Let
me hear from you please.
Proposed Cover #2
Proposed Cover #3
End February 2016's Photos/Images, Begin Miscellaneous Links
Here are links to separate web pages - all of them will open in a new
window (or new tab). The first link shows some photos of our DVD Collection, an
AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV. The 2nd
link shows our entire DVD collection in DVD Profiler (if you're asking yourself what
might be good to rent for the weekend). The DVD's will be sorted by date purchased.
You can click on the "Title" Column to sort that way if you desire. The 3rd link
shows our entire DVD collection in php DVD Profiler, which is much more
sophisticated than the plain vanilla DVD Profiler just above it. The 4th link takes you
to a set of pages which show you the FRONT cover-art of our entire DVD collection.
HERE IS
Google Search
✔
the bottom of this page. Click on any thumbnail to go to its Amazon.com webpage.
of our publications
(Does Not Include 100 Mountains Series)
(28 seconds)
(Paperback Editions)
(28 seconds)
(Hardcover Editions)
(26 seconds)
End Miscellaneous Links, End Page 1 of 1, February 2016
Thanks so much for taking the time to look at the website this month. We're sorry that it's not a bit more exciting. We never
made it out to Mt. Takao in search of Frost Flowers or anything very exciting at all. Surely next month will be better as it will be
Violets season.
wallpaper or whatever. The copyright will be retained by us and the photo will be inconspicuously marked with the copyright symbol
(©), year and photographer's name. (Donation probably not tax deductible.)

Outdoor Photography of Japan, ALL February Photos

Transcription

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