Winter at Mt. Apoi. For anyone who plans to climb Mt. Apoi, please be extra careful during the winter season.

Ponsanushipetsu River
Part of the river is already covered in ice.

At the 1^st Station, an ice path has formed in areas that usually hold water.

When I headed back down the mountain, this area was covered in a light dusting of snow, and I could not see the ice underneath.

Near the 3^rd Station

I feel like this area becomes the most slippery every year.

5^th Station
The summit of Mt. Apoi was covered by blowing snow, so I couldn't see it from here.

7^th Station

Uma-no-se

The wind was strong enough here to push me around a bit.

The ground was a mosaic of ice and peridotite.

I tried to step on the brown peridotite so I wouldn't slip.

Uma-no-se - 8^th Station

The summit of Mt. Apoi is still covered in a snowstorm.

The Summit

I believe that even more snow has piled up since I took this photo.

On Friday, Dec 12^th we began the Apoi Dream Project with the Samani Junior High 7^th graders.

The Apoi Dream Project aims to reestablish the flowering areas on Mt. Apoi. The students grow Mt. Aapoi alpine flowers from seed and then transplant the mature plants onto the mountain.

This time, the 7^th graders will conduct experiments to investigate various variables within this project, such as "Can alpine plants be grown indoors?" and "Under what conditions will they grow?"

Since many of the alpine plants on Mt. Apoi are endemic, if they become extinct, they will vanish from this earth. This project aims to prevent the disappearance of these rare plants and was introduced as a joint project with the Mt. Apoi Fan Club.

We began with a cold-wet treatment on kikyo (bellflower) and ezokozorina seeds (2 varieties from 2023 and 2025). The seeds will germinate better by simulating winter conditions.

We were shown photos of kikyo (bellflowers) grown by the Mt. Apoi Fan Club members last year at the Mt. Apoi regeneration experimental site. The students were very impressed! Even though the kikyo seedlings did not sprout this year, the data we recorded will help us increase the existing plant numbers.


Ezokozorina and kikyo seeds


Students listening to the lecture

During the next project session planned for January 2026, we will extract the germinated seeds and plant them in planters. From January to June, the students will grow the seedlings at school while taking observational notes. Then, in June, we will plant the seedlings at the Mt. Apoi regeneration experimental site.

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On this day at 11:44 AM, the emergency earthquake early warning alarms sounded. The students took cover underneath their desks.

We experienced a Shindo 3 earthquake in Samani. The epicenter was located offshore Aomori prefecture, at a depth of 20 km, and a magnitude of 6.7

At 11:52 AM, a tsunami advisory was announced in Samani.

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NHK News Article (Japanese)

Shindo 3 in Samani - Residents Evacuate in their Vehicles

https://news.web.nhk/newsweb/na/nb-7000081426

Once a year, Samani Elementary and Junior High Schools hold a community open house to share their educational curriculum and showcase students' hard work with the local community.

The schools have been focusing on developing the students' communication and presentation skills.

The curriculum includes a comprehensive learning program called the "Hometown Apoi Studies," which teaches about the nature and industries of Samani.

Everyone is welcome to the Community Open House to see the growth of the students cultivated through the school curriculum.

Therefore, I decided to visit the Junior High School for myself.

On Wednesday, Dec 10, at the Samani Junior High School, students from grades 6^th - 9^th were presenting posters that summarized what they learned from the "Hometown Apoi Studies."

I noticed new themes emerging in the presentations. This is likely due to 8th graders visiting Mikasa Geopark this year and the incorporation of SDGs into the 7th-grade curriculum.

The board of education noted that communication skills are crucial for the students as they move forward in life. I believe the poster session was very well done.

Around 30 people came to observe the poster presentations: a combination of parents, residents, and town hall staff.

As I was leaving the school, I had a nice view of Mt. Apoi, Mt. Yoshida, and Mt. Pinneshiri.

Recent strong winds have caused some trees to fall near the hiking trail on Mt. Apoi. On November 28^th, staff met to share information and discuss how to handle the fallen trees.