Last week we visited a backcountry route of Tsugaike to report for the SPRAY, Jiyujin's separate volume.



This area is a part of the Tsugaike nature park, where spread marsh and wild flowers in summer.

The word "marsh" sounds as if the land is rather flat and easy to ski, but this area is in the middle of what we call the Japan's Northern Alps and some parts are very steep and exciting for skiing.




We headed for Tenbo (observation) marsh deep into the nature park.

The snow condition was not perfect. Some parts were very slippery but some parts were not, and even sturdy participants tumbled many times. But such a lot of snow at this time in April was amazing.

A brace of gouse!

Reported by Hirasawa

Spring News

It's been getting wamer and wamer these days.

Fukinoto

Spring vegetables and flowers are shooting up.
Fukinoto is one of the most popular spring vegetables in Japan.
It is a sort of edible wild plants, which spontaneously appears on fields in spring.
We cook Fukinoto with Miso (soybean paste) or deep-fry and enjoy the spring taste!

Katakuri (left) / Koshinokobaimo (right)

Katakuri is a kind of wild flowers, well known as spring flower in Uonuma region. When snows gone, it comes out through dry grasses with pretty dawncast appearance.

Snow's gone

We didn't have much snowfall this winter.
In January and February, we had almost half the amount of snowfall we usually have.
We've got some snow in late March (and I crashed my car...)
But it's gone now.



Although the mountain peak of Hakkaisan is still snow-capped (it will be white till early summer), the rice paddy below is ready for farming.