Ever Been Stuck In A Field Of Cosmos Flowers?
Cosmos Season
Every year from the end of September until October is cosmos flower season in Japan. Throughout the country are fields of these beautiful flowers in a wonderful array of colors.
I went to take some photos of the cosmos flowers in "Sato Yama," which means "Village Mountain," out in the Japanese countryside. The area is covered in mountains and there are rivers passing through the villages. The lifestyle here is simple. People grow rice and vegetables, and there's a sense of peace and self-sufficiency.
Within Sato Yama lies the Toyono Cosmos No Sato Field of the Toyono district, in the north of Osaka. The cosmos flower field covers around 1 hectare, and contains more than 1 million cosmos plants of ten different varieties. The paths through the field were designed by the owner for easy viewing. The cosmos flower tower over people walking the paths like trees in a forest.
Stuck In The Cosmos Field
After taking photos of the very impressive cosmos flower field for a couple of hours, I decided to go home. But, unfortunately, I didn't check the bus schedule. There was no bus at that time, and I would have to wait about 2 hours for the next one. On top of that, the weather was threatening to rain. I didn't know what else to do, and I needed to get home, so I decided to hitch hike. Hitch hiking in Japan is reasonably safe, and within about 10 minutes, a small red car stopped in front of me, one young girl and an old woman inside. They kindly asked me where I was going, but they couldn't help me because they weren't headed my way., A few minutes later a second car stopped and took me to the station. I felt very lucky and thankful. If I'd been caught in the rain with no one to help me, my camera might have be damaged,, and I don't even want to imagine that!
Anyway, it is a memory that I'll never forget and a new challenge in my life, as I'd never hitch hiked before. I hope you enjoy the pictures from my mini-adventure!
How To Get There
Get the Hankyu train at Umeda station, get off at Ikeda station and then take bus 136 about 40 minute. See time schedule below for full details.