Saitama II

I met up with Scarlett today at Ikebukuro station, her date Kaz also showed up. Juli was supposed to be there but she overslept so we went on ahead towards Hidaka in Saitama. There was the Red Spider Lily Festival being held there and it was a prime opportunity to check it out as I've always wanted to. After an hour or so we met up with Scarlett's friend, Haruhi and then we began the walk towards the fields where the flowers were supposed to be though even from the train station we could see some bunches blooming in velvet. Scarlett and Kaz went back to find the bathroom so I was able to get to know Haruhi a bit more while waiting in line. The lines were long but the views were great as it was beside a river.

Eventually we were able to enter and even with just the initial view, it made everything worth it. A sea of vermillion as I call it, spreading all the way within the forest, red spider lilies in full bloom. I quickly went into photographer mode and started snapping away, forgetting that I was still with a group and went off to my own little world. The red was such a strong color but there would occasionally be a single white spider lily amongst the rest and their contrast made for an outstanding photo. There was also another opportunity of a black butterfly perching itself on the flowers, I was really happy with it though I had wished my phone had zooming capabilities. We circled around the whole place and after we were satisfied, we went out into the field through the festival stalls and to another section near the river where we relaxed for a bit. By that time, Juli was already going through the flowers behind us. Mercury in retrograde was in full effect as it was messing with all of our communications and the signal was horrible but we were able to agree to meet near the 7/11.

Scarlett, Kaz, Haruhi and I went there first to get some snacks and drinks for the rest of the day as we were going hiking next. Juli was able to catch up afterwards and we made our way to the trailhead of Mt. Hiwada.Read more