EXPERIENCE YAMANASHI AND MORE _ EXPLORE YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
Etsuo Yamamoto _ Certified National Government Licensed Guide Interpreter
Views from Fujiyama Twin Terrace from the Shindo Pass in winter. Also, please refer to the article on November 22, 2023.
Lake Yamanaka, Lake Kawaguchi and Mount Fuji from Fujiyama Twin Terrace, Ashigawa-town, Fuefuki-city, Yamanashi, 01/29/2024
Japanese alder (Alnus japonica) and Nikko fir (Abies homolepis), On the way to Fujiyama Twin Terrace, Ashigawa-town, Fuefuki-city, Yamanashi, 01/29/2024
Chinaberry (Melia azedarach) is a member of the Mahogany family (Meliaceae) and is known as “China Tree” and “Pride of India.” Chinaberry is a round, deciduous shade tree with fragrant lilac flowers. It is native to India, China, and the Himalayas. Chinaberry trees are commonly planted in parks, public gardens, stream banks and along footpaths or roadsides in Japan. The fruit, seeds and leaves of the Chinaberry tree are poisonous to humans.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melia_azedarach; https://sites.redlands.edu/trees/species-accounts/chinaberry/; https://www.pharm.or.jp/flowers/post_16.html; https://www.japic.or.jp/garden/index.php?mod=detail&id=145; https://www.takeda.co.jp/kyoto/area/plantno259.html
Fruit of the Chinaberry Trees, Bank of the Arakawa River, Kofu-city, Yamanashi, 01/22/2024
The collection of the Jomon pottery excavated from the Imojiya Ruins in the city of Minami (south)-Alps in Yamanashi Prefecture has been displayed in the Folklore Museum of Minami Alps-city until the end of January 2024. The Jomon pottery is a type of ancient earthenware pottery which was made during the Jomon period in Japan. Jomon means rope-patterned in Japanese and describes the patterns that are pressed into the clay. The earthenware pottery crafted during the Jomon period is generally considered to be the oldest pottery in Japan and among the oldest in the world.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C5%8Dmon_pottery; https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/jomo/hd_jomo.htm
Goddes of Childbirth ”La Vie”, The Folklore Museum of Minami Alps-city, Minami-Alps, Yamanashi, 01/20/2024
The Folklore Museum of Minami Alps-city, Minami-Alps, Yamanashi, 01/20/2024
The Folklore Museum of Minami Alps-city, Minami-Alps, Yamanashi, 01/20/2024
There is some snow on the mountain, Mount Kaikoma, Kofu-city, Yamanashi, 01/17/2024
The Festival of Seven Herbs is the long-standing Japanese custom of eating seven-herb rice porridge on January 7. The custom originated in China during the Tang dynasty, and it was introduced to Japan in the Nara period. The custom seems to have been practiced popularly in the Edo period. Seven herbs are water dropwort (Oenanthe javanica), shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris), cudweed (Pseudognaphalium affine), chickweed (Stellaria media), nipplewort (Lapsana communis), turnip (Brassica rapa) and Japanese radish (Raphanus sativus).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanakusa-no-sekku; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinjitsu; https://www.foodinjapan.org/japan/nanakusa-gayu
Commercially available the seven herbs of spring
One example of freeze-dried seven herbs of spring
Mount Iwadono is located in the Nigioka-machi (town) district, the city of Otsuki, in Yamanashi Prefecture. Because of the proximity to JR Otsuki Station, it is a popular hiking destination. However, the Hatakura trail is the only one which reaches the top of the mountain right now. The other two trails, the Kowaze trail and the Iwadono trail, are closed due to rockfall. It takes about 20 minutes from Otsuki Station to the entrance of the Maruyama Park on foot, another 20 minutes to the Hatakura trailhead and about 40 minutes to reach the top of Mount Iwadono. The height of Mount Iwadono is 634 meters above sea level and it is the same height as Tokyo Skytree. However, the difference in elevation of Mount Iwadono and Otsuki Station (elevation: 358m) is 276 meters; therefore, it is not very hard to climb it. You can enjoy unobstructed views of Mount Fuji from there.
https://www.yamanashi-kankou.jp/english/discover/mount-iwadono.html; https://otsuki-kanko.info/blog/view/28097
Views from Mount Iwadono, Nigioka-town, Otsuki-city, Yamanashi, 01/05/2024
A limestone cave, the stone house of the ogre, where the ogre of Mount Iwadono was imagined to live, Nigioka-town, Otsuki-city, Yamanashi, 01/05/2024
A shrine at the side of the Hatakura trail to Mount Iwadono, Nigioka-town, Otsuki-city, Yamanashi, 01/05/2024
Happy New Year! This is the year of the dragon in the Chinese zodiac (though China starts its zodiac from January 29). The Chinese zodiac is represented by 12 animals, the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. The dragon is the fifth and the only imaginal animal in the 12 zodiac animals. It seems that the inclusion of the dragon in the Chinese zodiac is rooted in Chinese mythology and cultural symbolism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_(zodiac); https://depts.washington.edu/triolive/quest/2007/TTQ07030/dragon.html;
Dragon Dharma doll by Arai Darumaya, Kofu, Yamanashi, 01/01/2024