Audio Guide: Shashambo
If you are visiting in late June, you will likely see the shashambo, or sea bilberry plants, in full bloom, covered with rows of tiny bell-shaped white flowers. Its scientific name is Vaccinium bracteatum. This unique shrub is in the same family as the azaleas for which Unzen is famous, but it is actually more closely related to cranberries and blueberries. Like its cousins, in autumn the sea bilberry produces edible dark-purple berries.