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As legend goes, a dragon god with four tails used to live in the lake. Shibireko means Four Tails Lake. There are nice campsites by the lake.

Lake Shibireko, Ichikawamisato, Yamanashi, 7/22/2023

For the old articles between (January 01, 2017 and March 29, 2017) and between (October 07, 2018 and May 16, 2023), please visit my previous website: EXPERIENCE YAMANASHI AND MORE _ ETSUO YAMAMOTO (https://etsuo.tokyo/).

A heat wave is hitting the city of Kofu area. It has been extremely hot. Hot days have been continuing in Kofu and in most of the towns all over Japan. In Japan, we have three words for hot days, Natsubi, Manatsubi, and Moshobi. Natsubi is summer day, the day with the highest temperature of 25℃ or higher, Manatsubi is hot summer day, the day with the highest temperature of 30℃ or higher, and Moshobi is extremely hot day, the day with the highest temperature of 35℃ or higher. (Refer to Japan Meteorological Agency, https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/kishou/know/faq/faq3.html, https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/indexe.html, )

In Kofu, the temperature hit 37.8℃ on July 17, 2023. The summer day has been observed 7 times (days), the hot summer day has been observed 5 times (days), and the extremely hot day has been observed 7 times (days) so far in July, 2023. (George’s Web Sites: http://www.tvg.ne.jp/george/weather/gw_stat_temp.html?city=kofu)

Take care and avoid heatstroke, everyone!

Five swallow chicks are preparing for flying soon.

Kofu, Yamanashi, 7/19/2023

Katsunuma is in the center of grape and wine production in Yamanashi and Japan. Small-scale vineyards are spread on the hills with gentle slopes and a lot of middle-size wineries are dotted in the area. A white-wine cultivar Koshu is originated in this area and it is the name for the region as well. Because the amount of the rainfall in the region is moderate and the temperature difference between day and night is large, the Katsunuma region is suited to the cultivation of grapes.

Katsunuma Grape Hill has an accommodation facility, restaurants, a shop with a good selection of wines and an open-air bath where you can enjoy the view of the Kofu Basin while bathing in a hot spring. (https://budounooka.com/; https://wineresort.jp/en/)

Views from Katsunuma Grape Hill, Katsunuma, Koshu, Yamanashi, 7/13/2023

Lake Kawaguchi Herb Festival has been held in Oishi Park and Yagizaki Park in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, in Yamanashi Prefecture during 6/24~7/17, 2023.

Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is in full bloom in Oishi Park, Fujikawaguchiko. You can enjoy the flowers and Mount Fuji in Lake Kawaguchi.

Lavender Fields in Oishi Park, Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi, 7/12/2023

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