Visitor Center Report

The Cerasus nipponica var. kurilensis at Takamatsudai (Mt. Kurodake’s 5th Station) began blooming on the 3rd. This is about one week earlier than last year, when they bloomed on the 9th.
Snow-covered Mt. Kurodake with the cherry blossoms…
I am always enchanted by this view.
Photos: Mt. Kurodake and Cerasus nipponica var. kurilensis Jun. 5

The photo on the left shows Mt. Kurodake as it appeared today, while that on the right was taken on June 2.
Here in Kamikawa, we have had continuously warm weather, with temperatures on some days reaching record highs. As a result, the snow is melting at a rapid pace.
However, it appears that the high temperatures will not last long and will soon return to normal levels.
The photos show how the face of Mt. Kurodake has changed in just two days.
Photos: Mt. Kurodake on June 5 (left) and on June 2 (right)

The current temperature outside the center is 31°C.
I’m used to the cold, but this heat is something else…
Here, I’d like to provide a little timely information.
In response to numerous inquiries, I went to check on the Ukishima forest road and Mt. Niseikaushuppe forest road.
Snow on the Ukishima road has melted and the road is passable.
As for the Mt. Niseikaushuppe road, there is a sheet covering the sign at the entrance from National Route 273. And, as the photo shows, the gate was closed.
I understand the road is closed due to accumulated snow and fallen trees. Although there is no word on when the road will be opened, I will post relevant information here as soon as it is available.
Photos: Ukishima forest road (left) and Mt. Niseikaushuppe gate (right) Jun. 4

These two photos provide a comparison of today’s view from the Mt. Kurodake peak and the same view last year.
A look at the same slope face of Mt. Kurodake shows that melting is progressing much faster this year.
As for the flowers, the Helonias kawanoi are blooming around the 9th Station; the Rhododendron aureum are budding at the peak; and the Arctous alpinus var. japonicus, Arcterica nana, and Loiseleuria procumbens are blooming between the peak and Pon Kurodake.
As with the melting of the snow, the flowers appear to be blooming earlier this year, although it is still too early to capture this in photographs.
Photos: Views from the peak of Mt. Kurodake on June 2 of this year (let) and June 1 of last year (right)

The snow is melting from the peak to before Ishimuro.
It is melting quite fast particularly at Ishimuro. This is in contrast to last year.
I should note that the caretaker will begin removing frozen snow and making other preparations for climbers from the middle of the month and will be stationed there from June 20. (For more information, please call Rinyu Kanko: 01658-5-3031.)
Of course, it is still early June.
It will be a while before Hakucho no Sekkei (swan-shaped snowy gorge) appears.
Photos: Near the Kurodake Ishimuro Jun. 2