walking around in the field of Oze(尾瀬)

My husband and I spent our last weekend at Oze(尾瀬).

Oze is a huge highland marsh, a wide basin, on the borders between three

prefectures, Gunma, Fukushima and Niigata. ( map is here)

Actually where we visited was Oze field,a part of the marsh, located

1,400 meters above sea level.

As the field is a basin surrounded by mountains visitors have to descend for

there from a certain point called Yama-no-hana, literally a nose of a mountain,

foot by foot on a narrow boardwalk and partly on stone steps.

As the boardwalk is slippery, even some experienced hikers are getting down on it very  prudently.

For a begginer like me it took more than one hour to get the plateau.

To have this view after some hard walking was so cool and relaxing.

Some bogs are gentle reminders of the huge marsh.

It was just after the official announcement of the end of the rainy season

in Kanto region, but in this area the season was not yet over, and we had faint flurry. 

人ひとり想ふひそかさなんとなく雨が似あふも尾瀬のはつ夏　今野　寿美（１９５２～）

　

I'm walking in the field of Oze

letting be a person on my mind,

It goes quite well with

jot and quiet rain

of early summer

(Sumi Konnno)

On the highland with lower temperature, a little rain and breeze, I felt it was

like early summer as the poem says, while the Meteorological Agency told that

it was like high summer around my residential area during the days.

This field is famous for Mizubashou(水芭蕉）,or skunk cabbage, but their season

is almost over.

 Instead, コバイケイソウ（小梅蕙草、Veratrum stamineum）are in full boom now and the flowers protect themselves with their poison from be eaten by bears as many flowers of skunk cabbage are done.

I found several Nikkou-kisuge, or Hemerocallis on the field as well.

The season of the field colored with the light orange of the flowers will come soon.