Drive

One of my friends took me out for a drive in her car. It's been a few years since I last saw her. 

We headed for Ura-Bandai area, where there are hundreds of lakes and ponds, and thick forests. Those beautiful lakes were formed as a result of the eruption of Mount Bandai in 1888, but the debris avalanche turned the forests into a wasteland at the same time. The present forests were made by Endo Genmu, who re-afforested the vast area of 1340 ha, wishing the wasteland to become a forest where birds tweet again. In 1950, 16 years after he died, Ura-Bandai area was designated as a national park.

The blip is of Joko Beach at Lake Inawashiro, where we tried to see the sunset, but ended in a chat because of thick clouds. Somehow the time on the beach was most fun of the day for me.