Seasons of Yokoyama: Summer
Summer is the season of saturation in the Yokoyama area. The sky is deep blue, the forest a vivid green, and the air is thick with humidity and the buzz of cicadas. However, a cooling breeze off Ago Bay alleviates the heat on Yokoyama Tenkū Café Terrace and the other observation decks, and the walking trails are shaded by the forest canopy overhead.
Trees and shrubs that bloom in the forest between spring and summer include yellow and white gardenias (kuchinashi), pink harlequin glorybowers (kusagi), Japanese clethras (ryobu) with sprays of white blossoms, and the pink silk trees (nemunoki) not far from Yokoyama Tenkū Café Terrace. As the rainy season approaches, vibrant hydrangeas (ajisai) also emerge, most notably along the carefully cultivated Hydrangea Walk in the Sozo-no-Mori area.
Insects thrive in the hotter months. Beetles inhabit the trees, among them the Japanese rhinoceros beetle (kabutomushi) and several kinds of stag beetle (kuwagata). Dragonflies like the golden-ringed dragonfly (oni yanma), Japan’s largest, and the colorful blue-tailed forest hawk (oshiokara tonbo) dart through the air in search of prey. When the incessant buzz of the daytime cicadas subsides, the plaintive cry of the evening cicada (higurashi) takes its place, completing the classic Japanese summer soundscape.