Its time to say goodbye to spring and hello to summer with a long rainy season intermission to get us started. But before I say my last goodbye, there is one more thing I want to do. The last two weeks of May are the best time to view fireflies. So, let’s go see them.
Every year, something has kept us from going out to see those dainty little beetles that light up the night sky like so many stars. This year, we were utterly determined to go. Its easy enough to keep track of when and where to go. The news channels buzz with the latest updates, much like they do for the cherry blossoms, maple leaves, and every other seasonal spectacle in between. There seemed to be at least half a dozen good spots to visit. Some were a bit too far or inconvenient for other reasons. For example, we would have loved to take the “hotaru-bune” (firefly boat). One can leisurely cruise down the Sendai River and observe the fireflies skitting about the banks. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in the cards this year. All riders must be at least three years old, which rules out my daughter. And funny thing, they seem to have some rule against child abandonment along riversides. So, we had to choose another locale. You know, it would be nice to just see them in our own backyard. My wife has told me how when she was a child there were fireflies right in her garden. Alas, those days are long gone. The firefly is a very sensitive little bug. He demands the presence of very clean, fresh water. During my wife’s childhood, her house was surrounded by rice fields and woods. Now all of that has turned into shops, parking lots, and suburban housing. Progress? Perhaps. But what a loss. This sad fact is true for nearly all of Kagoshima’s suburbs. Yet it is still possible to find those twinkling critters without going too far from home. We needed to make our decision quickly. Timing was everything, especially with the rainy season on its way. So, we settled on Kenko-no-mori Park. And I’m so glad we did.
We arrived at the park around 4pm. The fireflies don’t make their appearance until about 8pm, so we had plenty of time to see what the park had to offer. I was immediately struck by how large the park is. We were greeted by the fountain/manmade waterfall at the entrance. There are stepping stones which lead behind the waterfall. It was overcast but pretty warm, so it was refreshing to hop along behind the rushing water. Off to the left is the visitor’s center, indoor swimming pool, hot spring, and sports recreation room which includes: a basketball and volleyball court, and a table tennis area. Just outside that is a waterslide which wasn’t open yet for the season. Off to the right is the playground, sufficiently stocked with all things for all ages. Down the middle runs a shallow pool which starts at the fountain and ends at the waterfall. At the height of summer, children are allowed to splash around to their hearts content. My son naturally made a beeline for the playground, so we headed there first. It took some coaxing to keep my daughter from jumping in the water. She soon came toddling on, with dripping hands and prematurely grass stained knees. I tell you, it was like shepherding a duck. I paused to take some pictures. I liked the floral arrangements in the planters and along the paths. But best of all, for me, was the grass. I was so happy to see such a large area of well tended grass. Too few parks in Kagoshima have a nice lawn to run around on. Most neighborhood parks just have hard-packed dirt. I was almost giddy enough to kick off my shoes and socks and have a run.
The playground was really nice. As I said, there is a little something for everyone. My wife and I liked the cable swing. You hold onto a rope with a large ball at the base for you to sit on. Then you hurl yourself forward and you fly along a cable for several yards. My son liked all the usual slidey and climby things. And he really loved the sand pit, with its buckets and pulleys and even a mini crane. Being only one year old, my daughter was happy with the simpler things, like watching her mommy and daddy fly through the air. She also enjoyed the rocking horses and kiddie swings.
Once we had exorcised our playground demons, we decided to take a walk. Right next to the playground is a well known viewing spot. On a clear day you can see most of the city and get a fantastic view of the volcano. Sitting and taking in the view didn’t interest the kids though. They still needed a good run. So, once again steering my daughter clear of the fountain we turned towards another even larger grass field. At this point I noticed that the park is dotted with works of art. Probably the most visible is a tall marble sculpture of a….well…of a mound of marble. I’m sorry; I don’t really get modern art, but I do appreciate its existence. Across the field stands a bronze sculpture of horses. From a distance, my son took them for real and darted in their general direction. As I followed taking pictures, I spotted other objects scattered around the area for everyone’s viewing pleasure. Before we could reach the horses my son set off the potty alarm. Every parent with children ages 2-5 hears this everyday. It means you must find them a toilet this minute or face horrible consequences. And so I came to find another reason to like this park. They have plenty of clean, strategically placed restrooms. Just the fact that they’re clean shocked me. Good luck finding a clean public toilet at a city park in the states.
We finally got to the bronze horses and had our obligatory ride. At this point everyone agreed it was time for juice and a snack. Silly us; we had forgotten to pack anything. Just getting the kids dressed and in the car is as far as I can plan anything. The only option was to check out the visitor’s center and see what they had on special. Turns out they are decently stocked. There’s a small shop with snacks, etc. and vending machines with everything else. The kids opted for ice cream and fruit juice. While they sat and dripped, my wife and I reviewed the map. We weren’t quite sure where the fireflies would make their appearance. Turned out, they inhabit a group of ponds some distance away from where we were. The kids made short work of their juice and ice cream. We wiped them clean (god bless baby wipes!) and herded them towards the ponds.
Did I say the ponds were only some distance away? They looked so close on the map; only a couple of inches. We had come back to the viewing spot near the playground and took a guess at the route we needed to take. Basically, we needed to go down. I hadn’t thought the park was so large. I have no idea about actual acreage but I guessed we had been playing and walking around less than half of it. Even if the distance was a little surprising, I was still happy. Who doesn’t love a big park? And most of it was covered in grass with a healthy number of trees to boot. I won’t bore you with the details of the walk. It would have been lovely except that the children took turns demanding to be carried. The hills, the slopes, and the distance alone would tire anyone who wasn’t carrying a twenty-plus pound baby and a three year old.
Mercifully, we made it. There was a quaint sitting area above the ponds for optimum viewing. Instead of taking a seat though, we went down some more stairs and right into the main area. There are three small, tiered ponds. Within the center pond is a wooden platform for visitors. Each pond is connected by stairs. The croaking of the frogs was deafening. We decided to have a seat on the planks in the center pond. Now it was the waiting game, made ever more tedious by anxious, sugar inspired children. Other families started filtering in and finding their places. My son and I looked for frogs and salamanders. We found a few of both. There were also enormous dragonflies. I don’t know what they’d been eating but…wow! It finally became dark enough to see fireflies. We didn’t know what to expect. Everyone had his own idea of how they would emerge.
True to their nature, gently, an almost audible glow flickered from the reeds. Then it came from the trees, and then the bushes. Soon we were surrounded by tiny, playful, greenish yellow (or was it yellowish green?) lights. Everyone was just tickled by it. What is it that makes them so pleasant to watch? So small, so subtle, so simple and yet so awe-inspiring.
The fireflies tired themselves out after about an hour or so. My daughter was getting there herself. But I couldn’t tear my son away. I know how he felt. I didn’t want to leave either. Not until the last twinkle had gone out. Only we did have to go. It was getting late and we hadn’t eaten dinner. Even a promise of ice cream for dessert didn’t work. So, I told him it was okay. We’d be back. The fireflies just needed to rest a little.
As you we walked back, my son said that he had befriended one of the fireflies. It told him to come back next year and they would play again. I said, “That’s right. We’ll be back.”
He replied, “I can’t wait.”So I said, “Don’t worry. The time will pass quickly.”He said, “No, I can’t wait for the ice cream you promised.”
He’s gonna be the death of me.
