On June 10th, the Japan Meteorological Agency announced that this year's rainy season had begun in the metropolitan area. As I posted every year, we have hot and humid days in the metropolitan area from early June to mid-July. At times like that, the only thing that saves my gloomy feelings before midsummer is viewing hydrangeas which come into flower this season. This year, I visited two beautiful spots on the Keio-Inokashira line.
First, I got off the train at Hamadayama station. Full-blown hydrangeas were seen here and there along the railway track near the station. Furthermore, I saw many photo lovers shooting the flowers and the trains. We gave each other space and shot the flowers and trains. Please look at the top photo. In addition to the classic purple flowers, the pink-colored ones are vivid, aren’t they? The passing train is Set 1771 of the EMU Keio 1000 series, which displays the special hydrangea plate on the front. That’s so picturesque.
After enjoying around Hamadayama station, I stopped by Meidaimae station and tried to shoot the full-blown hydrangeas on the embankments of the track. Please look at the photo below. Keio has been working on planting hydrangeas on the embankments of the railways to prevent slope failure and protect the environment since 1991. This is my favorite spot where I visited in 2012 and 2015 as well. My recent visit was for the first time in ten years, but the I found that the embankments were still beautifully maintained.
