Visitor Center Report

The Visitor Center’s new hours begin today.
Between June and October, the center will be open every day from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Heretofore, this blog has primarily featured plants and animals that are seen at the base of the Daisetsuzan mountains. However, beginning in June, it will shift its focus to the mountains themselves. (Information on the lower areas will also be provided from time to time.)
Moreover, we are doing our best to gather information so that the blog will be of interest to even more people.
I intend to get an early start by going up to Mt. Kurodake tomorrow to take a look at conditions there. Please look for my report here.
I should mention that information on future openings of forest roads in the Kogen Onsen and Ginsendai areas is posted in the “road information” section of the website’s main page. Please refer to it when planning your visits.
As in past years, this blog will provide a full range of mountain-related information throughout the coming season. We hope you will find it useful when entering the mountains.
Photo: The Daisetsuzan peaks seen from Kamikawa Town Jun. 1

In Momijidani, Sounkyo’s popular walking trail, the only snowy gorge remaining on the trail is an approximately two-meter section just before Momijidani Fall at the very end.
The weather forecast predicts rising temperatures for the next few days, so this patch will likely melt soon.
The snow is melting slightly earlier than last year.
Around the valley, Anemone debilis, Anemone flaccid, Viburnum furcatum, Menziesia pentandra, and Viola selkirkii are blooming.
The weather is becoming quite warm, so visitors should take precautions against the heat when walking.
Photo: A snowy gorge just before Momijidani Fall, Sounkyo May 30

I found some Ardea cinerea chicks that appear to have hatched strong and healthy.
They have grown some, so they must have hatched several days ago.
The photo was taken from a distance so it’s difficult to see, but the chicks are with their parent on the left side. (On the right is another nest. The bird in that nest is still incubating its eggs.)
From here on, the parents will be busy feeding their chicks. As the crows are always waiting nearby, we can only hope that the chicks will grow into fledglings.
The area has become noisy with the calls of the chicks and their parents as well as the crows.
Photo: Female Ardea cinerea May 29

May 27, 2014 Clear 19°C (2:50 p.m.)
The temperature outside the center has currently reached a high of 19°C.
This is the warmest it has been this spring.
Sounkyo is gradually being filled with fresh green leaves.
The forecast predicts fairly high temperatures for the end of the month.
If the weather stays like this, we can expect the snow to melt rapidly.
Photo: Sounkyo Gorge May 27

Today the Visitor Center held a course on “Springtime Mountain Trekking: The Kumoigahara Marshland.”
A misty rain fell early this morning but later gave way to a cloudy sky that was perfect for a day of pleasant mountain trekking.
The area around the marshland was almost entirely covered by hard snow. We walked through a forest of giant coniferous trees and on the marshland itself, places that are not passable in the summer.
A large amount of snow remains, so the only blooming flowers we could see were Lysichiton camtschatcense. Nonetheless, the course came to a successful conclusion amid the delightful singing of Tarsiger cyanurus and Erithacus akahige.
We also spotted the tracks of large animals, so people planning to go to the marshland should carry noisemakers.
Photo: Near the marshland, Aizan Gorge May 25