Ikemeguri Nature Trail: Flora and Fauna
In spring, the Ikemeguri Nature Trail comes alive with Japanese winter hazel and purple-blue haru-rindo gentians. There are also yamazakura cherry blossoms, fragrant shrubs called shiromoji, and masses of Miyama-Kirishima azalea. Deer, boars, and badgers forage for food, and bush warblers and tits sing in the trees. In late summer, cicadas join the chorus. You may even see the rich chestnut plumage of a white-rumped copper pheasant.
In summer, the delicate white blossoms of the panicle hydrangea arrive. At season’s end, they give way to the yellow-flowered succulent called kirinso. In autumn, the mating calls of deer echo through the trees, and the deciduous trees turn red and gold. This is a particularly spectacular sight across the cobalt-blue waters of Lake Rokkannon-miike.
In winter, the snow is marked with animal tracks, and ducks and other migratory birds arrive from the north. Once the wild camellias come into bloom, spring is on its way once more.