When you walk from Tonbo-no-yu (a hot spring bath) to HOSHINOYA in this season, you will find fluff blowing in the wind. Is that the dandelion puff ? No, they are actually flowers of prunus grayana, often known as Japanese bird cherry. Although it doesn’t look like a cherry blossom, it is a true member of cherry family. It has unique flowers which look like a brush. It is recorded that people in the past used to use this tree to predict their future. In Nigata Prefecture, buds of Japanese bird cherry are eaten by pickling in salt!
今の時期にトンボの湯から星のやまでの道を歩いていると、綿毛がフワフワ舞っています。タンポポの綿毛？と思っていたのですが、実はこの犯人はウワミズザクラ。桜っぽくないけど桜の仲間なんです。ブラシみたいな形をしたお花がすごくユニーク！漢字で書くと「上溝桜」。昔、この樹の上面に溝を彫って亀甲占いをしていたことからこの名前がついたのです。新潟県ではこの桜の蕾を塩漬けにした「アンニンゴ」と呼ばれる食べ物もあるんだって！
with stone 