Footsteps of Spring

Mountain views, a suspension bridge and a misty lake

Takako Sakamoto Mar 19, 2015 - 2 min read

<p>Three Hakuba mountains seen from Oide Park. I expected to see the cherry blossoms along the river in full bloom but I was too early.</p>

<p>When you drive through the Shirosawa tunnel on Route 406, you'll see this magnificent view of the Northern Alps beneath you</p>

<p>The view of Mount Tadeshina in the Kita Yatsugatake Volcanic Group, seen from Lake Megami (Goddess). Unfortunately it was getting cloudy.</p>

<p>I strolled on a pathway along Lake Megami. It was my first time to see Zazen-so (Eastern Skunk Cabbage)!</p>

<p>The view seen from the Sunset Hill observation deck. I wondered if it was Kurumayama Highland or Mount Kirigamine which stood before me?</p>

<p>Lake Megami was enveloped in morning mist. It was freezing cold in the early morning!</p>

<p>The view from Hinata-kiba observation deck located on the Fairy Tale Way</p>

<p>This place has a commanding view of Southern Yatsugatake through Southern Alps to the Central Alps, but unfortunately on this day the mist blocked my sight!</p>

<p>When I climbed to the Mugikusa Mountain Pass and descended on the side of Yachiho Highland, I could see Mount Asama showing its face ahead to the left from the nearby parking lot!</p>

I traveled to the mountainous Shinshu region on 20th of April 2012 looking for late spring.

A long time ago, I visited Hakuba and Kurumayama Highland for skiing. This time I traded my skis for a camera. I was looking forward to enjoying a belated mountain spring, but it turned out I came too early! I planned to photograph fully-blooming cherry blossoms and magnolias along the river stretching from Oide Park with three mountains of Hakuba in the background, but no flowers were blooming! It's not easy to have good timing! Still, I wasn't crushed by my bad luck. I returned to Lake Shirakaba in Tadeshina, and strolled along the water. And guess what? The Asian and Eastern skunk-cabbages were blooming there! Surely, I heard the footsteps of late spring coming to visit the deep mountains.

The Late Spring of Mountainous Shinshu 1. World Above the Clouds 2. Footsteps of Spring 3. Flowers of the Snow Melt 4. Spring Breeze of Azumino

Shinshu in Spring

Takako Sakamoto @takako.sakamoto

I was born in and grew up in Tokushima prefecture, and have lived in many places since then: Nishinomiya, Kyoto, Nara, Mie, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Fukuoka and Fukui. I am currently living in Yokohama City. All the places I lived, all the places I visited, I have loved dearly. The histor...