Sweetness in Winter Landscape

We just have passed Daikan ( 大寒; literally the coldest day of the year according to the 24 seasonal divisions of a year in the old lunar calendar) and now we are in the dead of winter.

In this frigid air, however, narcissuses are in bloom, all the more beautiful for the colorless landscape.

                                                    shimmer of hope and joy

Here at Nada-kuroiwa（灘黒岩水仙郷）in Awaji Island, 5 million wild narcissuses are growing in the southern slope of Mt,Yuzuruha (608m) that cover an area of 7 hectares. They are cascading down the hillside overlooking the sea.

The contrast of white petals and yellow coronas looks so clear and crisp with green stalk and leaves standing straight. Like Ume(Japanese apricot) blossoms, they also seem to show resilience and endurance in the face of hardship.

Among visitors, I found an aged woman with a stick whose back was bent with age trudging up the gradual slope. Her son accompanied her. I overheard she was 95 years old. At last her son carried her on his back to the observation platform. How she was grateful to him for bringing her to that scenic place. She must have been very happy to enjoy lovely flowers and got energized a lot.

The sea looked like a shimmered metallic fabric by a soft beams of sun light through clouds.

                                                      Nushima island (沼島) seen over there

                                             the fishing boat gliding across the calm inland sea

Akashi Kaikyo Ōhashi(明石海峡大橋); the longest suspension bridge in the world at 1991 meter, connecting the city of Kobe and Awaji Island

                                                 on the way back, from inside the car

You can enjoy full bloom till the middle of February. Spring is not so far away.