Standing on a hill overlooking Yame’s tea plantation, I watch the sunset over the Ariake Sea. Mt. Hijridake in Saga, far away, is also faintly visible. Very beautiful. There are 300 tumuli in the vicinity, which shows that Yame was a prosperous place.
It rains so much that Owase is said to rain from below. Rainfall is the highest in Japan. I have visited Owase twice so far, and both times the weather was fine. Thanks to this, I was able to see beautiful mountains and the sea. It is also the entrance to Kumano Kodo. The world of the Kii Peninsula is profound.
I enjoyed Chinese New Year at Chinatown in Yokohama. Very gorgeous. Yamashita Park was crowded with tourists from all over the world. Large foreign passenger ships also dock at Osanbashi. It is unseasonably warm and the breeze blowing through the wharf is pleasant. It’s a beautiful harbor.
I traveled to Tomakomai in mid-autumn. I couldn’t forget the sunset at Tomakomai Port I saw a year and a half ago, so I visited again. The sunset view from the harbor pier was beautiful as expected. This time I went a little further to Lake Utonai. The surface of the lake was tinged with blue sky. Tomakomai Port was clearly visible from the sky on the way back.
I traveled to Susami Town in Nanki. The view of the sunset from the fishing port was exceptionally beautiful. The famous Inobuta rice bowl was also delicious. The sky is blue and the scenery is beautiful.
I visited Sarushima by ferry from Yokosuka for the first time in 20 years. Sarushima is the only natural island in Tokyo Bay. There are no monkeys. It is said that the name Sarushima came from the legend that a white monkey suddenly appeared on Nichiren’s ship when it was hit by a storm and saved Nichiren by guiding him to Sarushima. From the end of the Edo period to World War II, it protected Tokyo Bay as a fortress, and even now there are ruins such as an artillery battery and ammunition storage. It is a mysterious island where primeval forest and fortress remains coexist.
The autumn memory of the Sea of Okhotsk. In September of the year before last, I traveled to Abashiri and Ozora along the Okhotsk Sea. From the beach of Abashiri, I can see the Shiretoko Peninsula in the distance. “At the Cape of Shiretoko, when hamanas bloom …” (Shiretoko Bojo). The scenery of Ozoramachi is beautiful. The scene in which Van Gogh appeared in Akira Kurosawa’s movie “Yume” was filmed here. The yellow color of the sunflower stands out. In movie “Otokowa Tsuraiyo Wasurenakusa” appeared a lakeside of Abashiri Lake Japanese rose was quietly blooming.
Hikone Castle in the evening. The structure of the excavation is good and the pine is very blue. Go to the shore of Lake Biwako. The sun sets over Takeshima. Waves coming. I sing the song of “Biwako Shukou no Uta”.
With the beginning of summer upon us, the seaside of Chigasaki is in full bloom with hamahirugao, shalimbai, and komatsuyoigusa swaying comfortably in the sea breeze. Summer is just around the corner.