YOMITANSON, Okinawa -- The night is brighter in Okinawa Prefecture from winter to spring, with a sea of lights strung up to illuminate fields of chrysanthemums in the jet-black darkness.
"It's artificial daylight for the chrysanthemums. The lights are used to delay the blooming of the flowers," said Hitoshi Higa, executive director of the Yomitanson tourist association. Okinawa Prefecture is the second-largest producer of "denshogiku," chrysanthemums grown with artificial lighting, after Aichi Prefecture. Because chrysanthemums by nature produce buds when the hours of sunlight are short, the flowering time is adjusted by artificially lighting them at midnight.
Due to the prefecture's mild climate, the flowers can be shipped in early spring without using a greenhouse.
The illuminated scenery has become familiar to people who enjoy driving by or going on a date, he said. "The scenery has been called 'kikumination' these days," he said. Kikumination is a neologism created by combining kiku, which means chrysanthemum, and illumination.
Last spring, Kohei Ikehara, a second-generation chrysanthemum farmer, opened a tourist spot called Sunset Farm Okinawa. The farm opens from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends so that visitors can enjoy the kikumination.
Benches and hammocks are placed at a designated spot in the one-hectare chrysanthemum field, where 1,000 LED light bulbs shine.
Admission is free, and a free drink is offered to those who buy flowers. To enhance the attraction, the farm has added events for making accessories and photo opportunities using a drone, for a fee. These events, irregularly announced and advertised on the internet or social media, have helped draw more than 50 visitors on a busy night.
Ikehara studied fashion in Tokyo with an aim to become a stylist. He returned to his hometown when he wanted to learn management, and then inherited the family business.
During a company trip to Hawaii, he was surprised by the small coffee and pineapple farms for tourists, he said. The producers there enjoyed interacting with customers, which added a value to management.
After visiting lavender fields in Hokkaido, Ikehara was convinced that he could do similar things using denshogiku, he said.
Yomitanson was the first place the U.S. military landed on Okinawa Prefecture on April 1, 1945. The island was scorched due to fierce ground battles. There is a cave where a group of refugees had determined to commit mass suicide.
After Japan's defeat in World War II, many parts of the village were occupied by the U.S. military. The entire west coast -- where resort hotels are located now -- was a U.S. military base.
Ikehara's grandfather was a former village mayor who contributed to the revival of yuntanza-hanaui textile and other traditional cultures. His father's generation worked hard to establish a production system of denshogiku, which became a symbol of recovery that bloomed on land once drenched with blood and tears.
Ikehara said he continues thinking about things that his generation can do. "People in love now say the flowers offered to the deceased are romantic. I'm glad to hear them saying so," he said. With Okinawa Prefecture marking its 75th April after WWII, kikumination has created inspiring new scenery in the prefecture.
Yomitanson, having a similar shape to the winged Chinese Phoenix, is the most populous village in the nation with a population of more than 40,000. There are many sights to see, such as the beautiful beaches on the west coast around Cape Zanpa and the ruins of Zakimi Castle with its beautiful stone walls, registered as UNESCO World Heritage sites. Yomitanson is also a production area for sugar canes, red sweet potatoes, and denshogiku.
Mozuku seaweed bowl served at the Yomitanison fisheries cooperative's restaurant, Uminchu Shokudo, is well known as a delicious dish to those who know it.
The flavors of the ground meat and vegetables are added to thick mozuku in the bowl. The salty-sweet flavor is so appetizing.
"Recently, the bowl is popular as nursing meal and baby food," said a member of the fisheries cooperative that participated in its development.
It was originally served as a popular school lunch menu in the prefecture. The dish became a big hit when it was commercialized as a frozen food in 2008, so it was added the dish to the restaurant's menu. A set meal with a small bowl and soup is priced at 530 yen.
Tsurukamedo Zenzai is another recommended place near Zakimi Castle ruins. In Okinawa Prefecture, zenzai means cold sweets. Beniimo kokuto zenzai, made with purple yum and brown sugar, is shaved ice topped with purple yam powder, and sweet kintoki beans beneath the ice.
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