The main draw of Uryu-numa is of course the colourful profusion of wild flowers in early summer. Unfortunately on both my visits to date I didn’t get to see them.
The first time, many years ago, the weather was foul and the marsh was shrouded in thick mist with visibility down to only a few feet. On my second visit, with a group from the Hokkaido International Outdoor Club, we were just a bit too early in the season and only a few flowers such as the early blooming mizubasho were out. That was only a slight disappointment though; we’d had a fun previous evening on the campsite enjoying one of Leon’s famous BBQ feasts. The weather was great too, so next day we enjoyed the sounds and sights of spring; Himalayan cuckoos (tsutsudori) serenading us from the trees and the open panorama of snow-patched mountains all around. We then walked up the broad hillside behind the wetlands and over the odd lingering snowfield to the open summit of Minami Shokan-dake for the wild views over to Shokanbetsu-dake and Gunbetsu-dake.
As for the flowers – third time lucky perhaps!
