I am crazy about lotus. Lotus is the divine flower of Buddha. However, I'm crazy about it not because it's divine, but because it's beautiful. In my opinion, there are no other flowers more beautiful than lotus, nor are there flowers that show various faces in their lifetime as lotus does. It represents all the curvy beauty of the world. It's a manifestation of an ultimate beauty of Japan (well, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit).
Exaggeration aside, if you ask anybody, ''Where is the best place to see lotus in Yokohama?", nine out of ten would answer, "Go to Sankeien Garden". I searched on the Internet, asked around, read guide books, but the answer was the same...I should go to Sankeien. Therefore, I chose Sankeien Garden as my first lotus viewing site in this season. When I visited here in mid July, they were still in the bud stage and were waiting to bloom soon. The difference between lotus here and in other places is that since soft sea breeze from Yokohama Bay blows into the garden, you can see lotus flowers dancing in the wind. But on the day I went a strong wind replaced a soft sea breeze and flowers were dancing wildly, which was a rare sight to behold. The lotus season generally lasts till mid August. You may still be able to see the wild dance of lotus at Sankeien Garden in Yokohama!
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Takako Sakamoto @takako.sakamoto
I was born in and grew up in Tokushima prefecture, and have lived in many places since then: Nishinomiya, Kyoto, Nara, Mie, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Fukuoka and Fukui. I am currently living in Yokohama City. All the places I lived, all the places I visited, I have loved dearly. The histor...