Mt. Kakuda, Niigata (April 18th), Part II

Viola violacea var. makinoi (Makino Sumire).
At the top of Mt. Kakuda.


The view from the place near the top of the mountain.


You can see Mt. Gassan and Mt. Choukai far away.


Luehdorfia japonica (Gifu-chou).


Luehdorfia japonica (Gifu-chou).
I have never seen this kind of butterfly before.
The larval host plants are wild gingers species of the genus Asarum.


Anemone pseudoaltaica (Kikuzaki Ichige).


Sado Island.


The closeup of Sado Island.


Hepatica nobilis var. japonica f. magna (Oo Misumi-sou).


Hepatica nobilis var. japonica f. magna (Oo Misumi-sou).


Hepatica nobilis var. japonica f. magna (Oo Misumi-sou).


Hepatica nobilis var. japonica f. magna (Oo Misumi-sou).


Hepatica nobilis var. japonica f. magna (Oo Misumi-sou).


Hepatica nobilis var. japonica f. magna (Oo Misumi-sou).


Hepatica nobilis var. japonica f. magna (Oo Misumi-sou).
This plant has so many variations of the colors and shapes. That is why the local people try to protect this plant from being stolen.


Viola yezoensis (Hikage Sumire).


Viola yezoensis (Hikage Sumire).
We found these kind only at a small area at the bottom of the mountain.


Viola grypoceras var. rhizomata (Tsuru Tachitsubo Sumire)?


Acanthopanax spinosus (Yama Ukogi).
A woman was picking these young leaves to eat.
I've heard people in Yonezawa area of Yamagata have this plant. The place is a little close to that area, so they may have the similar food custom.


Jonnobi-kan. The local hot spring place.
We took bath before going back to the Maki Station.

Mt. Kakuda, Niigata (April 18th), Part I

The train in the fog at Yoshida Station.

We stayed at a hotel near Yoshida Station and took the train to Maki Station. Then we took the bus to another entrance of one of the trails to Mt. Kakuda, which starts from the seashore. The bus driver was the same guy who had driven us the day before, and we were the only passengers, so he took us all the way right at the starting point by bus. You can see the Japan Sea and also Sado Island not so far away from there. It felt pretty nice to hike with the ocean view pretty much all the way. We found even more of the Erythronium japonicum (Katakuri) flowers than on the trail we took the day before. Pretty amazing place.


Kakuda Beach.


Sedum oryzifolium (Taitogome).


Can you see the Sado Island?


Anemone nikoensis (Ichirin-sou).


A kind of maple tree?


Lithospermum zollingeri (Hotaru Kazura).
I didn't expect we could see this plant there. Really beautiful colors!

Lithospermum zollingeri (Hotaru Kazura).

Hepatica nobilis var. japonica f. magna (Oo Misumi-sou).


Hepatica nobilis var. japonica f. magna (Oo Misumi-sou).


Hepatica nobilis var. japonica f. magna (Oo Misumi-sou).


Arisaema urashima (Urashima-sou).


Chloranthus japonicus (Hitori Shizuka).


Viola kusanoana (Oo Tachitsubo Sumire).


Erythronium japonicum (Katakuri).


Erythronium japonicum (Katakuri).


Viola vaginata (Sumire Saishin).


Viola vaginata (Sumire Saishin).
This one is pure white.


Erythronium japonicum (Katakuri).


Erythronium japonicum (Katakuri).


Surrounded by the soft green leaves.


Viola violacea var. makinoi (Makino Sumire).
This kind is small flower violet, but I like the color of this violet.


Viola violacea var. makinoi (Makino Sumire).


Erythronium japonicum (Katakuri) and the seashore.


Erythronium japonicum (Katakuri).

Mt. Kakuda, Niigata (April 17th)

JR Maki Station. From here we took the bus to the entrance of the trail to Mt. Kakuda.

We took the bus to Jonnobi-kan BS and then took one of the trail from there. It was too late for the Erythronium japonicum (Katakuri) flowers, but we found amazingly lots of the plants growing in that mountain. We also found Viola violacea var. makinoi (Makino Sumire) flowers, but they look pretty different from the ones growing in the Okutama area.


Heterotropa megacalyx (Koshi-no-kan-aoi).


Epimedium sempervirens (Tokiwa Ikari-sou).


Viola violacea var. makinoi (Makino Sumire).


Viola violacea var. makinoi (Makino Sumire).


Viola violacea var. makinoi (Makino Sumire).
This one has really lovely petals like cherry blossoms.


Erythronium japonicum (Katakuri).


Heloniopsis orientalis (Shoujoubakama).


Erythronium japonicum (Katakuri).


Viola vaginata (Sumire Saishin).


Viola rostrata var. japonica (Nagahashi Sumire).


Viola rostrata var. japonica (Nagahashi Sumire).


Viola rostrata var. japonica (Nagahashi Sumire).


Viola grypoceras var. rhizomata (Tsuru Tachitsubo Sumire) ?


Viola grypoceras var. rhizomata (Tsuru Tachitsubo Sumire) ?


Viola kusanoana (Oo Tachitsubo Sumire).


Lepus brachyurus (Nihon No-Usagi).


Mt. Kakuda.

The Trip to Niigata (April 17th - 19th)

We went to Niigata this weekend. We stayed at Yoshida and climbed Mt. Kakuda twice. Erythronium japonicum (Katakuri) flowers have already passed the peak, but we were amazed at how much the plants are spreading at this mountain. On the last day we stopped by Ojiya to see some yellow violets, Viola brevistipulata (Ooba-ki-sumire) and we found lots of them at the backside of the station. I took many pictures, so I will upload more of them soon.