Author: Benkei

Fish in Amami Seaside Museum.

Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta), Amami Seaside Museum, Amami Oshima, Kagoshima, 7/08/2023

Asian moon jelly (Aurelia coerulea), Amami Seaside Museum, Amami Oshima, Kagoshima, 7/08/2023

Papuan jelly (Mastigias papua), Amami Seaside Museum, Amami Oshima, Kagoshima, 7/08/2023

Landing to Narita Airport, Chiba, 7/10/2023

Amami Oshima belongs to Kagoshima Prefecture, and is located approximately 380 km south of the southern tip of Kyushu Island and 250 km north of Okinawa (Wikipedia).

Peach Aviation A320-200neo, Narita Airport, 7/08/2023

Shirahama and Honohoshi Beaches, Amami Oshima Island, Kagoshima, 7/08-09/2023

Honohoshi Beach, Amami Oshima Island, Kagoshima, 7/08/2023

The Moon From Amami Oshima Island, Kagoshima, 7/10/2023

Shinokawa Primary and Middle School, and a Chinese banyan (Ficus microcarpa) tree, Setouchi-cho, Amami Oshima, Kagoshima, 7/ 09/2023

Screw pine (Pandanus odoratissimus), Amami Oshima, Kagoshima, 7/ 08/2023

Banana Fruit and Bracts, Amami Oshima, Kagoshima, 7/ 08/2023

Bitter orange (Citrus aurantium) and Papaya Trees, Amami Oshima, Kagoshima, 7/ 09-10/2023

Flowers in Amami Oshima, Kagoshima, 7/ 09-10/2023

Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta) and Green turtle (Chelonia mydas), Amami Seaside Museum, Amami Oshima, Kagoshima, 7/08/2023

Slender Seahorse (Hippocampus reidi), Amami Seaside Museum, Amami Oshima, Kagoshima, 7/08/2023

Amami Seaside Museum, Amami Oshima, Kagoshima, 7/08/2023

Setouchi-cho, Amami Oshima, is No. 1 in Tuna Farming in Japan, Amami Oshima, Kagoshima, 7/08/2023

Island Tofu and Miki Drink, Island Tofu Takano, Amami Oshima, Kagoshima, 7/10/2023

The plastic waste collected from the rivers in Yamanashi Prefecture has been displayed in the Kofu Municipal Office, 7/03-07/2023, conducted by the Environmental Policy Division. Part of the plastic waste ended up as microplastics in the ocean and harm the marine and wild lives. How can we reduce the microplastics?

The Plastic Waste collected in the rivers and the display posters that tell us where and how the plastic waste ends up in the revers and pollutes the environment of the marine and wild lives. Then, what can we do to minimize the microplastics in the ocean.

FYI:

1. Microplastics pollution: A comprehensive review on the sources, fates, effects, and potential remediation, A. H. Anik et. al., Department of Environmental Science, Bangladesh University of Professionals, Bangladesh, Environmental Nanotechnology, Monitoring & Management, Volume 16, December 2021, 100530 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2215153221001057).
2. Microplastics: The long legacy left behind by plastic pollution, United Nations Environment Programme, 28 Apr 2023 (https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/microplastics-long-legacy-left-behind-plastic-pollution).
3. Microplastics, Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microplastics).
4. What are microplastics?, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/microplastics.html).
5. Microplastics Pollution in the Seto Inland Sea and Sea of Japan Surrounded Yamaguchi Prefecture Areas, Japan: Abundance, Characterization and Distribution, and Potential Occurrences, A. H. M. Enamul Kabir, et. al., Journal of Water and Environment Technology, volume 18(3), 175-194, 2020.
6. Microplastics are everywhere — but are they harmful?, X.Z. Lim, Nature 593, 22-25 (2021) Nature, 04 May 2021.

It was a hot and humid summer day in Kofu, Yamanashi.

Arakawa River, Kofu, Yamanashi, 2023/07/04

Japanese False Bindweed (Calystegia hederacea) grown on the bank of the Arakawa River, Kofu, Yamanashi, 2023/07/04

Indian Fritillary (Argyreus hyperbius) resting on a plant grown on the bank of the Arakawa River, Kofu, Yamanashi, 2023/07/04

Hot and humid days have been continuing in the Kofu area in Yamanashi Prefecture.

Spider webs, bank of the Arakawa River, Kofu, Yamanashi, 6/21/2023

A migratory locust (Locusta migratoria), bank of the Arakawa River, Kofu, Yamanashi, 6/21/2023

Arakawa River, Kofu, Yamanashi, 6/18/2023

A small shrine on the bank of the Arakawa River, Kofu, Yamanashi, 6/18/2023

Experimentally being grown mango trees in Fuefuki, Yamanashi Prefecture.

Maturing Mango, Misaka, Fuefuki, Yamanashi, 6/16/2023

It was warm was summery. Even in the wood, the sun shined. It was a nice walk.

Kaempferi Azaleas (Rhododendron kaempferi), Aokigahara Woodland, Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi, 5/27/2023

Mosses and lichens on the trees and rocks, Aokigahara Woodland, Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi, 5/27/2023

The 10th Jazz Concert at Mountain Temple in Hokuto was held at the Nagasaka Community Station Hall on May 21, 2023. The first part was performed by the quartet featuring Maiko (violin), Shikou Ito (Piano), Benisuke Sakai (bass) and Yoichi Okabe (percussion). In the second part, a vocalist Karen Aoki joined the quartet. Several jazz standards were played and enjoyed by the audience.

Jazz at Mountain Temple in Hokuto, Nagasaka Community Station, Hokuto, Yamanashi, 5/21/2023

FYI

Karen Aoki: (https://karenaoki.com/), Maiko: (https://www.jvmaiko.com/index.html), Shikou Ito: (https://www.shikoupf.com/)

The rice (Oryza sativa) planting season started last month. Here in a cooler region of Nagano prefecture, the village of Hara, some farmers are still busy transplanting the rice seedlings from the seed beds to the paddy fields.

Transplanted rice seedlings in a paddy field and the scene of transplanting the rice seedlings by a mechanical transplanter, Hara-village, Nagano, 5/20/2023