insights from frontier Japan

The continuing blizzards of winter have finally ended and spring has arrived in earnest in northern Hokkaido. At Teshio Riverside Park in the town of Teshio, in the evenings, cold winds blow but, as well as the beauty of the sun setting in the Sea of Japan, the sight of Mt, Rishiri rising in the distance can also be enjoyed.

During the winter season, the woodland along Teshio River in the Northern Hokkaido region frequently experiences severe weather, such as raging blizzards. Even in this environment, wild birds like the Japanese pygmy woodpecker and the wood nuthatch manage to survive, searching desperately for nourishment. If you clear your mind and listen and watch quietly, you can glimpse these wild birds.

Along the mouth of Teshio River in northern Hokkaido, a zebra striped pattern has been showing up for the past few days at sunset along the sand shore, which has widened due to decreasing river water levels. The pattern looks like countless snakes lying in the sand.

White flowers are in full bloom on the tall, thin stems of “ezonyu” flowers (bear’s angelica) on the northern Japan Sea coast of Hokkaido. Locals have formed a group to enjoy the plant as food.