Photo/Illutration The Onouchihyakkei Hyochu Icicle Park in Ogano, Saitama Prefecture, as seen in a photo taken in January 2015 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Seen from a suspension bridge spanning a valley, the rugged hillside was wooded and dark brown when I visited the Onouchihyakkei Hyochu Icicle Park in the town of Ogano in the Chichibu region of Saitama Prefecture just the other day.

The scenery that spread before me was unlike anything for which this park is famous in winter--a popular tourist attraction that treats visitors to a panoramic view of a fantastic winter wonderland of myriad icicles and hoarfrost-coated trees.

About 10 years ago, members of the local chamber of commerce conceived a project that would take advantage of the region's frigid midwinter temperatures, which hovered around minus 10 degrees.

The project entailed installing an extensive network of perforated hoses throughout the park to draw water from the valley bed and spray it so that it would freeze and form icicles and rime.

The result was spectacular. The park attracted 55,000 visitors last winter.

But this year's record mild winter is hampering the growth of icicles.

"The icicles that form in early morning would melt away by noon. We've never experienced anything like this before," lamented Takayuki Kita, 76, who heads the project's executive committee.

The park's initial plan to remain open for two months to paying visitors this season had to be shortened to only three days, and no admission fees.

"All reservations for this season, about 300 busloads of visitors, have been canceled," Kita said.

Last autumn, the park suffered damage from Typhoon No. 19 that ravaged eastern Japan. Powerful winds knocked the park's spray hose network out of commission, but local volunteers came to the rescue and got back into working order in December.

But with many people staying away from the crowds this winter because of the novel coronavirus outbreak, I imagine the organizers would be agonizing now over whether to keep the park open, even if the icicles were in place as usual.

I heard a local resident comment, "Just for this year, it's probably a good thing that there are no icicles."

Seeing the anomalous state of the icicle park with my own eyes, I was reminded anew of the abnormality of this year's unseasonably mild winter.

A thermometer on the suspension bridge read 8 degrees.

Decades from now, I wonder if people will be fondly recalling--and sadly missing--this long-lost winter wonderland of icicles.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 29

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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