A couple of weeks ago one of my students mentioned that he hiked out to a park in the north of Uozumi and was able to see fireflies floating around. After some research it turns out that the park has a special program to attract and protect fireflies, and that the park was only about a 40 minute walk from my house.
I had a few false starts between then and now, but finally on Saturday night I hiked out there to see them. Thanks to my phone and the GPS function it was easy enough to find the place. It was really out away from the town, and it was fun hiking through fields and past the neighborhoods to an unknown destination. Once I found the park I was surprised how big it was, and I just had to follow the sound of kids to find families gathered in the dark alongside a stream. At first we saw only one or two fireflies, but after a time more and more came out, until we could see around 50 floating around.
I guess this time is a little past the peak of the season, but I was happy to see any at all. I decided to make this a yearly ritual while walking back.
Unfortunately while I was watching the fireflies, their cousins the mosquitoes were taking the chance to bite every bit of exposed skin. It was an itchy walk back. Next time I’ll remember to use anti-bug spray before I arrive.
