Our
second week has seen Ben and I travel from Hokkaido to Honshu and the city of
Niigata on the western seaboard. Here we were greeted by Dr. Kurashige, Deputy
Director of the Niigata Prefectural Botanic Garden. Three days were spent
botaninsing the flora of the Niigata region in some breathtaking locations. The
most exciting and memorable being a trek to find the most
northerly population of Sciadopitys verticillata in Japan (the Japanese
Umbrella Pine). It was a wet day with the mountain cloaked in mist, making it
difficult to navigate and assess our progress. Finally however, at 700m we came
across a single mature specimen of Sciadopitys,
clinging to the steep slope just below the mountain summit. What made it all
the more exciting was that it was displaying ripe cones full of seed. On closer
inspection, five other semi mature specimens were seen, as well as a small
number of juvenile saplings.
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| Taiga Kuhara - Guide Extrordinaire |
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| Ben Jones next to Sciadopitys verticillata |
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| Tom, Ben & Sciadopitys - Mission Accomplished! |
This
species is endemic to Japan, and listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List.
Seeing it in the wild was an experience that neither Ben or I will ever forget.
Taiga Kuhara, of Niigata Prefectural Botanic Garden, was our guide and made each
day an adventure.
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| Tom & Taiga heading through the forest |
We
then travelled on to Toyama, further south on the western seaboard, where we
were welcomed by Dr. Godo and Mr. Shiuchi. Further field sites were visited
including a trek through high altitude Fagus
crenata forest. Bells were worn by
all to alert our presence to any bears that may have been lurking nearby!
Fortunately, none were encountered.
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| Ben with bells on! |
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| Some of the other forest inhabitants |
Our
final evening was spent with the Toyama BG management team discussing our plans
for next year over traditional Japanese fayre, including sashimi, black squid
and some other 'unmentionable' dishes. The project is generating wide interest and
support across Japan. Ben and I have been overwhelmed by the hospitality
received and with the eagerness to collaborate.
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| Evening meal with Toyama BG Staff |
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| One of many amazing plants at Toyama BG |
Our
journey now continues to Kyoto in southern Honshu, Kochi on the island of
Shikoku and finally Tokyo and the Kanto region.
For Japanese culture aficionados, there is a calligraphy course at Ewert House next year.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/details.php?id=T210-26&search=japanese caligrphy&submitbutton=Search&multisearch=single&search_type[]=400
I went to an introduction course some years ago, Japanese speakers could have an advantage when speaking to machines and robots. Calligraphy however is an ancient art from before the technological age.