A Visit to Hijikawa Arashi View Park A morning spent following the fog downriver

One December morning, I climbed the hill above Nagahama. When I stepped out of the car and into the view park, a long ribbon of white fog stretched over the river. Below me were the rooftops; beyond the river mouth, the sea. The mist seemed to link them, and I stood there for a while with my packet of shigure held in both hands.

I'd heard that cold air and fog from the Ozu Basin flow down the river and out to sea, creating the Hijikawa Arashi. At first, I thought the fog would disappear at the river mouth. But it spread across the sea too. As I followed it with my eyes, the view felt much bigger than when I'd been looking only at the river.

The wind caught my coat sleeve, so I tugged my scarf a little higher. The buildings in town kept fading beneath the fog, then coming back into view. The stream of mist flowing past the bridge caught my eye too, and I couldn't decide where to look. The sea seemed clearer now, so I turned that way again. Though I was standing in one place, my gaze kept landing somewhere new.

I was holding the white packet of Nagahama shigure. It's a red bean sweet, and I'd heard that every shop makes its own version, with a different sweetness and texture. I brought it as today's snack, but couldn't bring myself to open it just yet. The fog might change while I was taking a bite. I just pressed a finger to the edge of the packet, then looked back at the river. I can enjoy it later while remembering this morning.

As I watched the fog, I let my gaze drift to the distant sea. Near the river, the fog looked thick and white, but farther out, the blue of the sea still showed through. I had fun trying to spot where one ended and the other began, and wanted to linger a little longer before taking a photo. I'd got up early just to come here, but I'd already forgotten how sleepy I was.

Before returning to the car, I looked back once. The town, river, and sea all looked just as they had before. Even so, I wanted one more look at the spread of fog. The packet of shigure was still in my hands. Time for a snack, I thought. I was glad I'd let the winter morning linger a little longer, and started walking back at an easy pace.