Taste the Sun at the Akeno Sunflower Festival

Staff Journal

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Take a step out onto the soft dirt path, and without even noticing, the tension will escape from your body and soul.

A warm summer zephyr dances through the thousands of leaves and petals before you, it tussles your hair, and as you inhale it, it fills your lungs with crisp, clean air. Only two hours away from the bustling capital of Tokyo, there is a place in Yamanashi with the most sunshine in all of Japan, Hokuto City.

Akeno Sunflower Festival

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▲More than 600,000 sunflowers bloom each year

Beginning late July and finishing in just less than a month after, the Akeno District is home to vast sunflower fields.

Although many people gather for the event, it doesn't seem overly-crowded and there are even nice places to sit in the shade and look over at the seemingly endless fields of yellow.

Although the main goal of most is to take the most insta-worthy photos, good pictures aren't the only thing this festival has to offer.

There were vendors offering food and drinks, ranging from a selection of very delicious smoothies, freshly-prepared mochi, and even traditional Japanese-skewered fish. Of all the delicious items, the one that caught my eye the most was the sunflower ice cream.

As a child back in America, one of my favorite snacks were the sunflower seeds you could buy at the corner store for a little more than a dollar. I wasn’t entirely sure how it would taste in ice cream form... but I certainly couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

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▲Sunflower-flavored ice cream

On this hot summer day, as we sat down in a small, shaded area looking over at the thousands and thousands of tall sunflowers, our ears tuned to the gentle rustling of the sunflowers petals tussled by the wind.

Two of the most calming sounds in the world to me, are the sounds of flowing water and gentle winds. Sitting here with a delicious sunflower treat in hand, I couldn’t help but pause and think to myself.

I’m glad I came to Yamanashi.

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