Today is Keichitsu
Thursday 5 March is Keichitsu (keichitsu), one of the twenty-four solar terms.
This is the season when insects begin to peek out from the soil. The cold eases; faces relax, and the body feels lighter.
Plum blossoms are open, fukinotō (butterbur buds) are starting to sprout, and on the mountains around Ikaho Onsen it is soon the season for fukujusō (Amur adonis) to show.
After the usual run of three cold days and four warm ones, spring will soon come to Ikaho Onsen. Please go out. Walks around town are on Sightseeing. A nearby ume festival is The 39th Misato Ume Festival. Another solar-term note is Today is Setsubun; later in the year comes Taisho — Greater Heat.