A hearty hello to all of our loyal readers near and far!
Here in Nagano Prefecture, it's been something of a banner year for snowfall, with ski resorts in the north enjoying some massive dumps of powder snow.
Kamikochi has also received its fair share of the white stuff. As of today, it's been nearly three months since the park closed its gates for winter which means we only have two more months to go until the reopening on April 17th!
Today, we'll be digging deep into our own playbook and sharing a post from the always reliable Five Sense Kamikochi blog. Intrepid blogger, Natsu, has shared some images of the snowy interior of Kamikochi, captured a little over a week ago. We hope that these pictures convey some of the solemn grandure of the park as it slumbers under a lustrous blanket of winter snow.
Currently, about a meter and a half of snow has accumulated in Kamikochi. On the day that these photos were taken, snow had been falling more or less continuously from morning till evening with strong winds adding a brisk winter chill to the air. As a result, the mountains normally visible on the horizon were difficult to see.
It was, however, possible to glimpse the outline of Mt. Yake through the mists of swirling snow:
While recent years have seen a succession of warm winters, the bracing cold and heavy snowfall of the current season have brought us one of the snowiest winters in years. But the cold and snow haven't deterred the animals that make Kamikochi home in the winter from observing their usual routine. Mallards and Japanese macaques have physical attributes ideally suited to enduring cold conditions:
Elsewhere, this view of the Shimizu River perfectly captures the serenity of Kamikochi in mid-winter:
And with that, we conclude our look at a winter day in Kamikochi.
We hope that you are all well and keeping warm and we'll be back with more features as the spring draws ever more near.
Thanks as always to the dedicated bloggers and guides at Five Sense, without whose efforts this blog would not be possible.
Till next time!
Source of Information:
Nature Guide Five Sense Kamikochi blog: https://fivesense.guide/blog/column/139181/
