Mt. Gassan, Part 2 (August 6th and 7th)

Mt. Gassan and Mt. Choukai at dusk.

Here is the other bunch of the pictures taken in Mt. Gassan and Kisakata, where we stayed the day before we went to Mt. Choukai.

月山の写真第2弾。下山後、鶴岡からきらきらうえつ号で象潟へ。
ここで、1泊して、翌朝、鳥海山に向かいます。


Flowers at the top of Mt. Gassan.


Adenophora triphylla var. hakusanensis (Hakusan Shajin).


Pedicularis chamissonis var. japonica (Yotsuba Shiogama) and Geranium yesoense var. nipponicum (Hakusan Fuuro).


Adenophora triphylla var. hakusanensis (Hakusan Shajin) and Anemone narcissiflora (Hakusan Ichige).


The view from the top of Mt. Gassan at dusk.


夕暮れ時のお花畑。秋の花でいっぱいです。


The sunrise at the top of Mt. Gassan.
The mountain on the right is Mt. Hayama.


Geranium yesoense var. nipponicum (Hakusan Fuuro) and Ranunculus acris var. nipponicus (Miyama Kinpouge).


Mt. Hayama and the morning sun.


Leontopodium fauriei (Miyama Usuyuki-sou, or Hina Usuyuki-sou).


Adenophora triphylla var. hakusanensis (Hakusan Shajin) and Anemone narcissiflora (Hakusan Ichige).


Another shot of Mt. Hayama.
While we were going down, it was getting cloudy.


Geranium yesoense var. nipponicum (Hakusan Fuuro).


Prunella prunelliformis (Tateyama Utsubo-gusa) and other flowers.
八合目バス停に下山途中もお花畑が続きます。


Geranium yesoense var. nipponicum (Hakusan Fuuro) and Prunella prunelliformis (Tateyama Utsubo-gusa).


Geranium yesoense var. nipponicum (Hakusan Fuuro).


Gentiana algida (Touyaku Rindou).


Busshouike Hut and Mt. Choukai on the backside.


Ligularia hodgsonii (Touge-buki).


Mt. Choukai from the window of the special train "Kirakira Uetsu".


The special train "Kirakira Uetsu" at Kisakata Sta.


The Kisakata Beach.


The view of Mt. Choukai at the Kisakata Port.


The sunset at the Kisakata Beach.

Mt. Gassan, Part 1 (August 6th and 7th)

Mt. Gassan at the junction to Mt. Ubagatake.

We went to Mt. Gassan and Mt. Choukai in Yamagata during this summer vacation.
It was our second time to visit Mt. Gassan together.
This time we left Shinjuku at midnight on August 5th by night bus, and then got off at Sendai station early in the morning on 6th. From there we took another bus to Nishikawa Bus Stop, where we took a mini bus to Ubasawa. At Ubasawa we rode the ski lift and started to hike up to Mt. Gassan.
There were already autumn flowers blooming. There were lots of kinds of flowers blooming pretty much everywhere!
We stayed at the hut near the top of Mt. Gassan. The hut was really nice and the supper was great.

夏休みは、地元、山形に行ってきました。
月山、鳥海山と再訪してきました。やっぱり、いいですね…どちらも花でいっぱいでした。
今回はいつもと変わった行き方を試しました。
5日の深夜、夜行バスで新宿を出発。6日早朝、仙台到着。（山形に行くより安かったのです。）
そこから酒田行きバスに乗り換え、西川バスストップで下車。
しばし時間をつぶした後、町営のマイクロバスで姥沢へ。
そこからリフトで高度を稼いで、初日は2時間半ほどの行程…でも、やっぱり夜行バスはきついようで、体がどうも本調子ではありませんでした。
でも、山頂に近づくほど、花の数が増え、テンションも次第に上がり、頂上の小屋にチェックイン後、ひと休みしたらすっかり回復しました。


At the top of the lift at Ubasawa.


Arnica unalascensis var. tschonoskyi (Usagi-giku).


Geum pentapetalum (Chinguruma).
まだ咲いているところもありました。


Cirsium nambuense (Nanbu Takane Azami).
月山には、主にこのナンブタカネアザミとウゴアザミがあります。
こちらは、ものすごくトゲトゲしてます。


Cirsium nambuense (Nanbu Takane Azami).
This one is white.


Sanguisorba albiflora (Shirobana Touuchi-sou).


Ligularia hodgsonii (Touge-buki).


Leontopodium fauriei (Miyama Usuyuki-sou, or Hina Usuyuki-sou).


Parnassia palustris (Umebachi-sou).


Gentiana nipponica (Miyama Rindou).


Tofieldia okuboi (Hime Iwa Shoubu).
イワショウブのかわいい花もたくさん咲いています。


Prunella prunelliformis (Tateyama Utsubo-gusa).
彩り鮮やかなタテヤマウツボグサ。


The trail from Mt. Ubagatake to Ushikubi junction.


Leontopodium fauriei (Miyama Usuyuki-sou, or Hina Usuyuki-sou).
ちょっとドライフラワー状態ですが、ヒナウスユキソウが姥ヶ岳周辺にたくさんありました。


Cirsium ugoense (Ugo Azami).
こちらは、全然トゲトゲしくなくて、葉っぱもやわらかです。


Pedicularis resupinata var. caespitosa (Tomoe Shiogama).


Mt. Gassan from Ushikubi.


Veronica nipponica (Hime Kuwagata).


Looking back to Ushikubi and Mt. Ubagatake.


Near the top of Mt. Gassan. The top is really large and flat.
The right one is the hut where we stayed.


Senecio nemorensis (Kion) and Geranium yesoemse var. nipponicum (Hakusan Fuuro).


Mt. Gassan.

Mt. Gassan (Part 2) (August 12th & 13th)

The sunrise at the top of Mt. Gassan.

We saw nice sunrise and all the plants were covered with the pinkish light, so we took lots of interesting color pictures. From the top of Mt. Gassan, we could see Mt. Choukai, too. We walked down to the Tsuruoka side of the mountain and then took the bus back to Tsuruoka Station, and then back home by the train from there.



Schizocodon soldanelloides f. alpinus (Ko-Iwakagami)


Near the snow at the top, we could still see some early kinds of flowers.


Geum pentapetalum (Chinguruma)


Heloniopsis orientalis (Shoujou bakama)


Coptis trifoliolata (Mitsuba-no-Baika-ouren)


Vaccinium ovalifolium (Kurousugo)


Viola biflora (Kibana-no-Komanotsume)


Geranium yesoense var. nipponicum (Hakusan Fuuro)


Viola biflora (Kibana-no-Komanotsume)


Viola biflora (Kibana-no-Komanotsume)


The Shadow of Mt. Gassan.






The colors were hard to express.


You can see Mt. Choukai, too.


Gaultheria ovatifolia ssp. adenothrix (Akamono).
This one got some berries.