Driving into Chino-City from Suwa-City of Central Highway interchange,
and taking Route 299 through ancient Togariishi ruins,
we reach Tadeshina Hot-spring Village, the Mugikusa pass of 2127m above sea level,
and the Matsubarako plateau at last.

Leaving Hamamatsu a little before noon on Jun. 23,
we arrived at the Mugikusa pass around five of the evening.
It did'nt rain and was cloudy. We stayed at the hotel at Koumi on the Matsubarako plateau,
it was so cool for June and temperature was17 degrees Celsius.
But unfortunately for me, it was raining hard on the morning of the next day June 24.
So maple investigation on June 24 was performed in the dense fog with an umbrella.

At the Togariishi ruins there were excavated the clay figure that attached the triangular mask recently.
Here is also a clay figure called "Venus of Jomon,"
which is specified to be a National Treasure, having whirling patterns in the head.

Karakogikaede (A. ginnala var.aidzuense) can be observed at all over Tateshina hot-spring village.
As I have never seen Karakogikaede in Shizuoka Prefecture,
it would be thought that Karakogikaede would grow gregariously at that spot.
Most of them finished blooming and had become into forms of seed.

The following photograph shows transition stage from flower to seed.

Ogarabana (A. ukurunduense) is observable
when we come to the neighborhood an altitude of 2000m near the Mugikusa pass.
Fortunately, Ogarabana was just in full bloom and I could take photographs of their flowers.
Since it was the first time for me to see flowers of Ogarabana of a natural kind, I was impressed so deeply.
The illustrated guide to plants says it is June when their flower term comes around,
and I knew it and I could actually encounter it.

The upper two photos were taken on the evening of June 23.
A lower left photograph is the scenery of flowers in the hard rain on the morning of Jun 24.

Moreover, around the Mugikusa pass flowers of Nangokuminekaede (A. australe) were also at their best
and these were the same type as those of the Shirabiso pass Kamimura Nagano.

Maple flowers around my house in Shizuoka Prefecture usually begin to bloom from April.
This time, I recognized that flowers of maples were observable at the end of June
on alpestrine zone such as the Mugikusa pass area with an altitude of 2000m.
It is rainy season in June, so I have never investigated maples at alpine zone till then.

The photograph was taken on June 23. As for the number of flowers most were seven and some were five.

Otherwise, at all over the Mugikusa pass and the Matsubarako plateau
there were seen Urihadakaede (A. rufinerve), Itomakiitaya (A. pictum var.mayrii),
Hauchiwakaede (A. japonicum), Ohmomiji (A.amoenum), and Asanohakaede (A. argutum).
All these species had already changed their flower style into seed form.

On the way (June 24) home, I drove my car to the fifth station of Mt. Fuji by way of Fuji Subaru Line.
From the roads let me show you the photograph of Mt. Fuji from the fifth station parking lot
and the photograph of Nangokuminekaede near the third station.
Otherwise, Ogarabana, Hauchiwakaede, Hinauchiwakaede (A. tenuifolium) caught my eye.