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Photographed on March 21, 2014. The cherry blossoms at Nakain were in full bloom. 🌸

Event Announcement 📣 From March 27 to March 29, a three-day screening of diverse films, including works directed by Tokachi Tourism Ambassador Yoshiyuki Fuji and director Yoshio Osaka, will be held at Shikaoi Town Community Hall. The Hokkaido International Film Festival travels across the prefecture to bring new stories to communities without movie theaters. Please come and enjoy a variety of films if you can 🤗 📍Date and Time: March 27, 2026 – March 29, 2026 📍Venue: Shikaoi Town Community Hall 🔶Advance Tickets: 2-DAY PASS (March 28 & 29) with clear file 4,000 yen (tax included) 1-DAY PASS (March 28 or March 29) 2,000 yen (tax included) ※Free for junior high school students and younger 🔶Ticket Outlets Shikaoi Town Community Hall, Shikaoi Town Hall Urimaku Branch, Shikaoi Town Chamber of Commerce, CAFE Oshaberi na Photo Studio, Torisei Shikaoi Branch, Usui Tenkodo, Ide Pharmacy, Shimizu Cultural Center, Shintoku Community Center, Makubetsu Centennial Memorial Hall, Otofuke Cultural Center, Memuro Central Community Center, Obihiro Civic Cultural Hall (Ticket Live), Mint Cafe 🔶Same-day Tickets (tax included) 2-DAY PASS (March 28 & 29) 4,000 yen 1-DAY PASS (March 27) 1,000 yen 1-DAY PASS (March 28 or March 29) 2,000 yen Single Program (one film) 1,000 yen https://hokkaido-movie.com/shikaoi/...

I took this in front of my home garden! Henbit and Cardamine hirsuta were in full bloom, making the scene adorably full of spring!

When I felt worn out from relationships and daily life, I looked up and saw beautiful cherry blossoms at night. Bathed in the streetlight and appearing fleeting, the blossoms calmed my heart.

I visited Omusubi Kokoro, which opened this February (^○^) While rice-ball shops that let you pick from a display case are nice, this place shapes your onigiri after you order 🍙✨ Located near Shimoda’s popular spot Perry Road, it’s a perfect stop to grab a snack after a stroll when you start to feel peckish 🎵 For me, ume (pickled plum) is a must for onigiri, but I couldn’t decide on the second filling…. In the end I narrowed it down to simmered alfonsino, dried fish from Ogiso Shoten, or okaka from Yamada Katsuo Bushi Shop. After much deliberation I chose the simmered alfonsino. The hot, hefty onigiri are great for taking to your favorite spot this season or for enjoying while walking around! Of course, you can also eat them inside the shop if you prefer (^^) Please stop by when you’re exploring the town.

Introduction to Shimanto Festivals in Shimanto City, Kochi Prefecture This introduces the local festivals that have been held in Shimanto City since long ago. 〇 Nakamura Region About 550 years ago, Norifusa Ichijo came down from Kyoto to the Nakamura Region, and many historic sites remain there, including streets and place names modeled after Kyoto. In the Nakamura Region, many festivals are held, including those associated with Tosa Ichijo. 1-1 Tosa Ichijo Kuge Gyoretsu (Fuji Matsuri) This event reenacts the arrival of Norifusa Ichijo, who left Kyoto in 1468 and took residence at Nakamura Gosho to restore the Hata manor, marking the foundations of Shimanto City. Modeled on Kyoto’s Aoi Matsuri court procession, the parade features a total of about 200 participants dressed in Muromachi Period costumes who march through the city. The colorful costumes, matching each role, unfold like a living historical picture. 1-2 Shimanto Citizen Festival The Shimanto Citizen Festival announces summer in Little Kyoto Nakamura. Organized mainly by the Shimanto Citizen Festival Executive Committee, a group of local volunteers, the festival includes citizen-participation events such as the Nakamura Dance parade and the lantern float parade. In particular, the powerful performance of the lantern floats, lit and paraded through the streets, offers inventive displays by each participating group and is well worth seeing. 1-3 All-Japan Jorogumo Sumo Tournament Long loved as a children’s summer pastime, this event is held on the first Saturday of August at Ichijo Shrine, located on a hill in the city center, as a summer memory for the children. Nationwide, this traditional event survives only in Shimanto City Nakamura and Kajiki Town in Kagoshima Prefecture. 1-4 Daimonji Bonfire The Daimonji Bonfire is an Obon custom in the Misaki district, Shimanto City, and a seasonal symbol that signals the end of summer in Little Kyoto Nakamura. On the 16th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, the slope of Todaijiyama (locally called Mt. Dainoji), where the mountain deity is worshipped, is carved into the shape of the character “大” and torches gathered from each household in the district are placed and burned. According to tradition, Fusaie, the son of Norifusa Ichijo, began this practice to console the spirits of Norifusa and his grandfather Kaneyoshi and to reminisce about Kyoto. Today, the event is run by local residents and delights many spectators as the "fire associated with Ichijo." 1-5 Shimanto Summer Fireworks Festival The Shimanto Citizen Festival, which heralds summer in Little Kyoto Nakamura, concludes with the Shimanto Summer Fireworks Festival, where music and fireworks perform together and a spectrum of colorful shells blaze into the sky. The fireworks reflected in the waters of the Shimanto River, called "Japan’s last clear stream," are simply exquisite. 1-6 Fuwa Hachimangu Grand Festival The Fuwa Hachimangu Grand Festival features the famous "marriage of the gods," with portable shrines of the male and female deities. After the male deity’s mikoshi, paraded through the town, awaits at Hachiman Shrine and the female deity’s mikoshi arrives, rituals such as the joining of the shrines are performed. This marriage ceremony of the deities is a rare ritual nationwide, said to have been started by Ichijo-ko, who enshrined the shrine, to discourage the then-common practice of abduction marriages. 1-7 Ichijo Grand Festival Since the establishment of Ichijo Shrine in the center of Shimanto City in 1862, this major festival has been held every year and represents Shimanto City. During the festival period, the sacred flame brought from Kyoto is displayed and many events, including a procession of children in historical costume, take place. 〇 Nishitosa Region The Nishitosa Region, located upstream in Shimanto City, features scattered riverside settlements and a peaceful landscape. In Nishitosa, traditional festivals passed down through generations are held in each district. 2-1 Iwama Boat Festival This ritual takes place at the summer festival of Iwama Tenmangu Shrine, when a mikoshi is placed on a boat and carried across the Shimanto River for a ceremony on the riverbank of the Kayou area. 2-2 Kondani Nembutsu Odori This Obon memorial ritual has been passed down in the Nishitosa Gonotani area of Shimanto City since around 1665. Bells and drums accompany the chanting of nembutsu, torches are lit on the riverbank for a water festival, and segaki memorial services and rites for newly deceased are performed. 2-3 Tachibana Mikoshi Boat Crossing In the Tachibana district, two shrines—Yasaka Shrine and Shiraiwa Shrine—face each other across the river, and on the eve of the autumn festival the sacred object is transported by boat from Shiraiwa Shrine to Yasaka Shrine. On the day of the autumn festival, after the rituals are held, the sacred object returns to Shiraiwa Shrine together with the mikoshi. 2-4 Hage Autumn Festival At the Hage Autumn Festival held at Hage Tenmangu Shrine, young people and children parade across the submersible bridge with the ox demon, mikoshi, and the flower-picking dance. The flower-picking dance is then performed on the shrine grounds. 2-5 Itsushika Odori Itsushika Odori is a traditional dance passed down through generations by local children and is dedicated at Kotohiragu Shrine during the Kotohira Festival in Nishitosanishikagata, Shimanto City.

(2026-03-21) Night View II of the Tomei Expressway and Mount Fuji Seen from Satta Pass Observatory This is a night scene I once photographed At that time I had no intent to capture Mount Fuji’s slopes; I was simply photographing light-trail nightscapes I had been waiting for another chance When a friend gave the go-ahead, I jumped at it and went out This time I kept shooting until the very last moment when Mount Fuji could be revealed by the morning sun, then combined the images using comparative brightening (stacking)

“Petals Drift on a Spring Voyage” Fushimi, Kyoto, Ujikawa River Diversion Canal. As petals scatter across the emerald-green surface, a Jikkokubune boat moves slowly. Passengers in kimono gaze at the spring scenery while cherry branches arch over the boat, creating a spring scene unique to Fushimi.

"Spring River, Boats Drifting" Fushimi, Kyoto — a tributary of the Uji River. As cherry trees bloom to cover the water with a canopy of blossoms, a jukkoku-bune (traditional flat-bottomed boat) glides slowly along. On the banks, people savor spring in their own ways, and lantern-lit boats sway as they slip quietly into a tunnel of flowers.

“Cherry Blossoms and Rapeseed Flowers: A Spring Duel” Fushimi in Kyoto, the Uji River branch. Full-bloom cherry trees arch overhead while bright yellow rapeseed flowers flourish at your feet, their colors competing vividly. Beyond the clear blue canal, the boarding point for the Jukkoku-bune boats sits quietly, and the tunnel of cherry blossoms continued into the spring light.

“Sakura Corridor, Spring River” Kyoto – Fushimi, the Uji River branch. Cherry trees in full bloom lean over from both banks and stretch their branches toward the water, forming a pale pink corridor. New willow leaves tremble in the spring breeze as a person in kimono pauses quietly. Boats called jukkoku-bune ply this canal, filling it with the essence of Kyoto’s spring.

“A raft of blossoms carries spring downstream.” Uji River branch in Fushimi, Kyoto. Petals blanket the water where the traditional Jukkoku-bune boats glide. On the banks, kimono-clad figures watch the flower rafts, while a tunnel of cherry blossoms takes on a soft glow. On this riverside afternoon, spring’s height and ending meet quietly.

"A Sanctuary Perfumed with Plum Blossoms" Kitano Tenmangu, Kyoto. Amid the moss‑covered branches of an ancient plum tree, red and white flowers vie for attention as shrine priests in white robes move quietly through the grounds. The plum trees loved by Sugawara no Michizane, the kami of scholarship, once again color the precincts this year, standing dignified and fragrant even under a cloudy sky.

“An Afternoon in the Plum Garden” The plum garden at Suishinin Temple in Kyoto. On a spring afternoon, bright red field umbrellas glow against the scene as fully bloomed red plums spread their branches toward the blue sky. At the ancient temple associated with Ono no Komachi, spring has returned unchanged again this year. The backs of people holding parasols quietly blend into this gentle moment.

“Plum Reflections of Silence” — Spring at Umegomiya Taisha Shrine’s Sacred Garden — In the sacred garden of Umegomiya Taisha Shrine, an ancient stone bridge stands quietly over the pond as blooming plum trees melt into the water’s surface. Pink and purple blossoms sway in the reflective water, where the springtime of Kyo gently comes to life.