insights from frontier Japan

During the summer, Ishikari Beach in the Ishikari region of western Hokkaido is a popular destination for sea bathers. But by late October, when they’re long gone, another group of people can be seen crowded together on the sand, peering at it intently as they walk. This new cohort are beachcombers, who search for and collect objects washed ashore — from pumice stones, created by volcanic eruptions 40,000 years ago, to a helmet decorated with Russian letters or an argonaut, a type of octopus housed in a shell that lives in warm, open-sea waters.

The annual summer drifting-lantern event was held on the coast near the Atsuta River estuary in Atsuta-ku in the city of Ishikari in central Hokkaido, as local residents’ thoughts of the deceased and their ancestors were conveyed. Approximately 700 lanterns glimmered in the dim light of dusk, reflecting on the surface of the sea.

In spring, kingfishers arrive in eastern and other regions of Hokkaido. Apart from a section between the two wings, the backs of the birds are bright blue, and they are known as “the gem of the clear streams”. May is the breeding season, and the males present the females with fish they have caught. This is known as courtship feeding, and the fish are passed from the male’s beak to that of the female.

　Water sprays dynamically from the Shirogane Falls by National Highway Route 231 in Ofuyu in the Hamamasu-ku district of the city of Ishikari in central Hokkaido, as snowmelt since late April has increased the amount of water.