Japanese June 5, 2005: Yufuin Walking
	The air is warm and crispy today. It will be clear in the afternoon, TV forecast said. I then drove out by alone to Beppu and then Yufuin. Nagarekawa street of Beppu was recently remodeled.
Comfortable drive along Yamanami Drive took me to the ropeway station of Mt. Tsurumi (1375 meters.) Mt. Tsurumi is designed as my homepage top page. The right peak is Mt. Tsurumi and left peak is Mt. Yufu.
	The air around here is much cooler than that of Oita City. Azalea is in full bloom now. At the top of Mt. Tsurumi, Miyama-Kirishima azalea has started to bloom, they say.
Hanagasa rhododendron is in bloom as well. It was just like Mountain Laurel I had once seen in Virginia USA. Click the picture to enlarge.
	Many kinds of flowers are in full bloom in the flower bed.
Hydrangea changes its color into seven patterns.
	I arrived at a green slope where an interesting event called "Beef eating and shouting" is held annually.
Young people enjoy a barbecue under the beautiful sky.
	Yufuin Basin is under my sight. The scenery is very popular for me but I can't resist to miss the landscape.
Green carpet on the slope is dotted with pink spots, probably Miyama Kirishima azelea.
	My destination in the valley is Kotokoto-Ya tea room, of course. I enjoyed a dish of seasonal spaghetti. It was so good and I missed taking picture of it and I could hardly snapped the dessert.
I parked my car at the tearoom and walked out with a camera in hand. The first spot was a shooting place of a film to be aired from NHK in this autumn under the title of "Haruka in the wind." The spot boasts of its good view angle of Mt. Yufu.
	Yamaboushi flower at the entrance of Yamadaya Inn.
Reversed Mt. Yufu in the rice paddy. (Click to enlarge)
	I wonder what the name of this white flower is.
「Tamanoyu hotel」 is decorated withJuyakusou and Hotaru-Bukuro. Is fire fly sleeping in the flower until night comes?
	The breeze is dry and cool, but the sunlight is very strong. I returned to Kotokoto-Ya tearoom. The cool water of Yufuin refreshed me.
I enjoyed pleasant chatting with Ms. Misako Fuchino, the proprietress and my closest friend. "We can watch firefly dancing in the stream here, plase come again together with your husband", she smiled. The watercress in the stream may offer good hiding place for the firefly.
	I enjoyed a slow walk in Yufuin valley after a long time. (Watercress with flowers.）
In the next month Yufuin Music Festival starts soon. Please come and join us.