The Land of the Rising Sun makes an event of the first sunrise of the year, with news articles and maps highlighting sunrise times and the scenic places to see it.
The earliest sunrise in mainland Japan (excluding the top of Mt Fuji) was at 6:44 this morning on Mt Kiyosumi in my own town of Kamogawa. But even though it was a stone’s throw away from 555, sunrise here was considerably later.
It was a cold and windy hour, but I learned a lot about the lay of the land at 555.
I decided to go out to capture the early light and the first rays of sunlight from my usual spot on the east road. I’ve taken numerous sunrise photos from this spot, where the color peeks up from a dip in the hills and tree branches frame the foreground. It’s very pretty here. But it’s not actually a good spot to catch sunrise, unless you want to wait a while.
While I waited, Beryl came out to join me. She came running down the road, bargling at me, then rubbed against my legs and sat down to wait together for whatever was happening. I don’t think cats really care a lot about the sunrise, but she was patient and stayed with me for 45 minutes.
We listened to birds, observed the strong wind swaying the trees. The iron bell at Oyama Fudoson rang on repeat as people had a sunrise hatsumode at a higher elevation.
It seemed like nothing happened in the sky for a long time. The colors barely shifted. 6:44 came and went, as I expected it would. It wasn’t until 7:06 that sun kissed the top of the hill in front of me and by 7:13 it had spread to the ridge to my left.
But where I stood on the east road was still in the shadow of forest and mountain. I sang a song and pulled some dead branches from the hillside. Beryl requested scritches.
A few minutes later, I turned around and I saw a slice of sunlight in the hatake (and the moon peeking out from the branches).
The first sunrise at 555 happens not on the east road, but in the slightly elevated garden plot to the west. Beryl and I walked over to find the sun and there it was, right next to the utility pole.
On the way back into the house, I paused to check on the Kobayashi mikan – not ready quite yet. But soon! I am looking forward to them in a few weeks.
And going inside to start coffee and run a bath- I’d gone out in my pajamas and housecoat and stayed longer that I expected – I went back out to catch the shot I really wanted.
明けましておめでとうございます！今年もよろしくお願いします！
