The Oku-satsuma firefly boat and Futawatari firefly boat cruise for this year (2022) have been canceled due to anti-coronavirus measures, and the small number of firefly larvae landing.

Fireflies are written about in the oldest existing Japanese official histories “Nihonshoki (日本書紀 / Chronicles of Japan)”

However, they appear in books and tanka (短歌 / thirty-one syllable verse) more often after the Heian era.
Literature teachers make students remember the sentences below which are written in “Makura-no Soshi (枕草子 / The Pillow Book)” by Sei Shonagon

- Night time is best in summer. The beauty of the moonlit night is beyond words. It is also superb to see fireflies dance in the dark, or only one or two flying with faint lights. The atmosphere when it’s raining is also beautiful.

Now is the season of the fireflies!
There are several good places to see them. Enjoy watching fireflies from a boat, or while walking along a path between rice fields, and see the reflection of their lights on the water surface.

Recommended Firefly Watching Boat Cruise

Oku-satsuma Firefly Boat Cruise
(Oku-satsuma-no Hotaru-bune / 奥薩摩のホタル舟)

This is a fantastic boat cruise!
Many fireflies dance on the surface of the Sendai River.
Enjoy watching hundreds of faint lights, listening to the sound of water while the boatman rows the boat.
Satsuma town runs the firefly boat only for this period.
The cruise takes about 40 minutes.

* Booking required!! Tel: 090-9602-4640
10:00 ~ 16:00 only on Weekdays

Date: May 17^th (Thu) ~ June 2^nd (Sat), 2018
* There is no operation on May 21^st (Mon) and May 28^th (Mon).
Time: Check-in 19:00 ~ 20:00 / Departure 20:00 (they sail every 3 minutes.)
Place: Abiru-kan, Koshi (神子) area, Satsuma town (228-7 Koshi, Satsuma town, Satsuma county)
*Check in at Abiru-kan
Fee: Adults 2,000 yen J.H.S.Students and below 1,000 yen
*including shuttle bus fee
Capacity: 190 people / day
URL： https://select-type.com/s/okusatsuma-hotaru

Map

Futawatari Firefly Boat Cruise
(Futawatari-no Hotaru-bune / 二渡のホタル舟)

This is the firefly boat cruise in the Futawatari area. It is about a 40 minute cruise. Enjoy fantastic firefly viewing from a boat!
An optional plan with Satsuma town specialty bento is also available!
This costs 2,500 yen / person (It covers the cost for bento and the cruising fee.)

* Booking required for both cruises with and without bento!!
Tel: Futawatari Garappa Hotaru-no Kai 080-6447-0570

Date: May 12^th (Sat) ~ June 3^rd (Sun), 2018
*Depending on the fireflies’ appearance and condition, the boat cruising period may be shortened.
*You can’t book the cruise on the 19^th of May (Sat) due to a different firefly event “Futawatari Hotaru-wo Miru Yube (二渡ホタルを観る昨夜)”. However, the firefly boat cruise is available, and it’s possible to go for the cruise on a first come first served basis.
Time: The first cruise 19:30 ~ / The second cruise 20:30 ~
Place: Futawatari Mizube Park
Fee: Adults 1,000 yen E.S.Students 500 yen Infants 200 yen
URL： http://2watarigarappabotaru.blog.fc2.com/

Map

Category : text @en

Tag : 24 divisions of the solar year , 24sekki , corona virus , COVID-19 , COVID19 , Emergency , Japanese culture , season , tanabata , The coronavirus , 日本の文化