Seasons in miyama

If there is one theme that can be felt throughout all aspects of Japanese culture, it is the seasons. The Japanese have made enjoying the seasons into an art form, and if you look at the details whilst in Japan you’ll notice these seasonal tones everywhere: on Kimono patterns, in pottery, on wall hangings and in the food served in restaurants and Japanese homes. Even the colour of the train drivers’ uniforms changes with the seasons in Japan.

Broadly speaking, Japan has the same four seasons that all temperate parts of the world go through, but they can be sub-divided a bit more. This is what a typical year looks like in Miyama.

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Spring starts at the end of March, as the cold of winter starts to give way and the snow that has been on the ground for much of the winter melts away. On the higher mountains there can still be some snow until May. As spring arrives a wide variety of flowers and herbs sprout from the previously snow-covered earth. Many of these are edible, and you can find the people of Miyama bent over picking mugwort (Yomogi), which is said to clean the blood and keep insects from biting you, it’s also delicious as fried Tempura.

During late May and early April the temperature will often get up in the high teens (centigrade) during the day, but beware of the cold at night when the temperature drops rapidly. In early to mid-April the cherry blossom (Sakura) appears and it’s time to picnic and celebrate the warmth after the long cold winter. It’s also time to start preparing the fields for the rice harvest.