The Seasons in 2009 (photographs)
Winter (20 March)
5. The south face of Maruyama from the main access track
6. The southern face of the mountain, an area affected by forest fire 50 years ago, now covered in dense evergreen dwarf bamboo (sasa).
7. The same slope from the south meadow.
8. The Horoka Tomamu River on the east side
Early spring (4 May)
By early May, most of the snow had gone. More of the evergreen dwarf bamboo (sasa) was exposed, but there were still no flowers to be seen, and the white birch and other deciduous trees were still bare.
9. From the National Forest track on the west side (same view as in 3.)
10. The two summits of Maruyama from the west, with National Forest in the foreground.
11. The main summit of Maruyama from the west
12. The Yonnosawagawa on the west side of the mountain. This flows into the Horoka Tomamu, just south of the mountain.
Early autumn (18 September)
By mid September some of leaves were just beginning to turn. A week or two later there would have been more colour, though 2009 was not a spectacular year for autumn foliage. Under the right conditions the hillsides becomes a patchwork of scarlet, red, gold, orange and yellow leaves.
13. The west side of the mountain
14. The western slope (detail)
15. Looking towards the north side of the mountain
MMH and SCH, 22 April 2010