Spring Has Come!

It seems that FINALLY Spring has come to Hijiori. It snowed only a couple of days ago, but I guess, I hope that it's Spring now! 



Light green flowers in the picture on the left are called "Fukinoto". These flowers are the sign of Spring in Northern Japan. 

When we see "Fukinoto", we don't say "How pretty!" Instead, we say "Yummy!". 


Fukinoto is the best when cooked as Tempura. It has a slightly bitter taste and it goes so well with hot white rice :-) I already had some this year. Oishii!!

We still have some snow left. It won't be gone until May. By then, we'll have more flowers, and fresh green leaves will grow on the trees in the mountains. Hijiori's famous morning market will start. Many kinds of eatable wild vegetables will be sold in the market. 


Right now, all the hotels and touristic places in Tohoku are empty. Hijiori, of course is one of them. It makes all of us worry about our future. But what can we do? It is no use to cry. 

So today, I took a walk in my beautiful town, feeling the warmth of the sun. I talked to the neighbors, talked to the few guests. I had spent the past few says totally stressed out about organizing volunteers to go to Miyagi. All the negative news didn't help me. But this short stroll gave me more power than I expected. 


Some say, "Our life is never going to be the same". But today I felt that we are going to be okay :-)  Who could abandon such lovely little town with the best hot spring in the world!?