EXCITING YAMANASHI AND MORE

A picture of Mount Fuji with a cloud on a clear day. It looks like Mount Fuji is steaming up!

Mount Fuji with a cloud, Kawaguchiko town, Yamanashi, 10/09/2026

Japanese stone oak (Lithocarpus edulis): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithocarpus_edulis

Acorns of the Japanese stone oak, Aokigahara Forest, Narusawa village, Yamanashi, 9/25/2026

Items from stores in Yamanashi:

KEIHAN RAILWAY THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE 2020

KEIHAN RAILWAY THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE 2020 (SCALE 1/135), Long Type TOMICA No. 124 Keihan Railway Thomas & Friends 2020: https://takaratomymall.jp/shop/g/g4904810156925/?wovn=english&srsltid=AU7gw4Xmn4tFEEAKndcRDa9Vy4CWSqxoQot3acFDFVuo_I9DwcbCRVF4

Tomy Company, Ltd. (trading as Takara Tomy in Asia and Tomy elsewhere): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomy: https://www.takaratomy.co.jp/english/; Thomas & Friends: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_%26_Friends

Cool Retro Match Boxes

Kobe Match Co. Ltd.: https://kobe-match.co.jp/; Match Design Factory Retro matches: https://mdf2009.base.shop/

A Water Wheel at Home of Waterwheel Park in the town of Mukawa, Hokuto city, in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan.

A water wheel, Home of Waterwheel Park, Mukawa town, Hokuro city, Yamanashi, 9/05/2026

A water wheel, Home of Waterwheel Park, Mukawa town, Hokuro city, Yamanashi, 9/05/2026

Panicle hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’): https://plantfinder.mobot.org/plantfinderdetails.aspx?kempercode=c192: https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/hydrangea-paniculata-limelight/

Panicle hydrangea Limelight plants grown and maintained by a nearby farmer, next to Home of Waterwheel Park, Mukawa town, Hokuto city, Yamanashi, 9/05/2026

Asiatic jasmine (Trachelospermum asiaticum ‘Hatsuyukikazura’): https://mikawanoyasou.org/data/hatuyukikazura.htm; https://www.ootk.net/cgi/shikihtml/shiki_4996.htm

Asiatic jasmine plants grown and maintained by the nearby farmer, next to Home of Waterwheel Park, Mukawa town, Hokuto city, Yamanashi, 9/05/2026

Taro (Colocasia esculenta): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taro

Taro plants grown by a nearby farmer, next to Home of Waterwheel Park, Mukawa town, Hokuto city, Yamanashi, 9/05/2026

Asian Cultivated Rice (Oryza sativa): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oryza_sativa:

Ripening rice paddy fields nearby Home of Waterwheel Park, Mukawa town, Hokuto city, Yamanashi, 9/05/2026

FYI: Southern Alps UNESCO Biosphere Reserve: https://www-minami–alps–br-org.translate.goog/about.php?_x_tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=ja

Green bristlegrass (Setaria viridis) growing alongside a road:

Green bristlegrass, Kofu city, Yamanashi, 8/28/2026

Green bristlegrass (Setaria viridis): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setaria_viridis; https://mikawanoyasou.org/data/enokorogusa.htm

Purpletop vervain (Verbena bonariensis) growing alongside a road next to the green bristlegrass above:

Purpletop vervain, Kofu city, Yamanashi, 8/28/2026

Purpletop vervain (Verbena bonariensis): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbena_bonariensis; https://mikawanoyasou.org/data/yanagihanagasa.htm

Mitakesan (Mount Mitake) Kanazakura Shrine: https://kofu-tourism.com/en/see-and-do/31: (In Japanese) https://kanazakura-shrin.webnode.jp/

Kanazakura Shrine, Mitake-cho, Kofu-shi, Yamanashi, 5/03/2026

Near Kanazakura Shrine, Mitake-cho, Kofu-shi, Yamanashi, 5/03/2026

Four plant names are:

White Silky Wisteria (Wisteria brachybotrys f. alba): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisteria_brachybotrys

Akebi (Akebia quinata): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akebia_quinata

Japanese snow flower (Deutzia gracilis): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutzia_gracilis

Japanese kerria (Kerria japonica): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerria_japonica

Torch azalea, near Kanazakura Shrine, Mitake-cho, Kofu-shi, Yamanashi, 5/03/2026

Torch azalea (Rhododendron kaempferi): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhododendron_kaempferi

Sunpu Castle Park: https://sumpu-castlepark.com/en/

Maple Mountain Garden, Sunpu Castle Park, Aoi-ku, Shizuoka-shi, Shizuoka, 5/17/2026

Tsutsuji Azalea (Rhododendron simsii): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azalea; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhododendron

Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornus_kousa

Ryujin Falls, Nishizawa Gorge, Mitomi-Kamikamakuchi, Yamanashi-shi, Yamanashi, 5/02/2026

Rhododendron subg. Hymenanthes, Nishizawa Gorge, Mitomi-Kamikamakuchi, Yamanashi-shi, Yamanashi, 5/02/2026

Direction stone, Mie (3 steps) Falls and Nanatsugama Godan (5 steps and 7 pools) Falls, Nishizawa Gorge, Mitomi-Kamikamakuchi, Yamanashi-shi, Yamanashi, 5/02/2026

Views from Kayagatake (Mount Kaya), Kai-city, Yamanashi, 01/17/2026

Views from Sword-Pulling Rock Observation Point, Kai-city, Yamanashi, 01/11/2026

Snow storm views from the top of Mount Shirasuna, Kai-city, Yamanashi, 01/11/2026

Views of Yatsugatake Mountains from Gangahara Observation Point, Mount Hinata, Hokuto-city, Yamanashi, 01/25/2026

Bamboo grass in a snowy forest, Mount Hinata, Hokuto-city, Yamanashi, 01/25/2026

Views from the rooftop of Koyodai Resthouse, Sunny Aokigahara Forest with Snow, Fugaku Fuketsu (Wind Cave) and Narusawa Hyoketsu (Ice Cave), Narusawa-village, Yamanashi, 01/03/2026

https://www.mtfuji-cave.com/en/; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narusawa_Ice_Cave; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugaku_Wind_Cave; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aokigahara

Year of the Horse Daruma doll (made by Arai-darumaya) and Kadomatsu made of bamboo, Kofu, Yamanashi, 01/01/2026

(In Japanese) https://arai-darumaya.com/; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_Horse; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexagenary_cycle

Kadomatsu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kadomatsu

Senga Falls and Shosen Gorge,* Takanaricho, Kofu, Yamanashi, 01/01/2026

Shosen Gorge: https://kofu-tourism.com/en/see-and-do/12; https://www.shosenkyo-kankoukyokai.com/en/; https://www.shosenkyo-kankoukyokai.com/

Senga Falls: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senga_Falls

Please visit my previous sites on Shosen Gorge:

https://yamanashietsuo.net/one-afternoon-in-shosenkyo-gorge/; https://yamanashietsuo.net/oyanagawa-valley-and-itajiki-valley/; https://yamanashietsuo.net/shosen-gorge-and-kanazakura-shrine/;

https://etsuo.tokyo/wp-admin/post.php?post=1854&action=edit; https://etsuo.tokyo/wp-admin/post.php?post=3717&action=edit; https://etsuo.tokyo/wp-admin/post.php?post=1841&action=edit