The Sea of Japan

When the cherries bloom and other plants bud forth in spring, plankton reach peak levels and the Sea of Japan flourishes. During this season, the most beautiful sight is the luminescent firefly squid tossing themselves in the surf. On nights of the new moon from March to May, the shoreline is adorned with blue light, enveloping the vicinity in a magical atmosphere.

A renewed growth of seaweed brings vibrancy to the Sea of Japan in autumn. Withered by the summer heat, seaweed revives as water temperatures drop. Visibility increases, and an undersea garden unfolds in the clear waters. As if they had been waiting for the seaweed to flourish, shoals of sandfish arrive, and over a few short days fill the bay and spawn all at once. Clusters of eggs rock in the branches of the seaweed, creating an otherworldly spectacle.

Frigid seasonal winds blow in from the northwest, and foamy "wave flowers" created by the rough seas dance along the shore of the Sea of Japan in winter. Gray clouds hang over the surface of the sea and wrap the world in monotone, but undersea, life flourishes. "Amberjack-rousing thunder" announces the arrival of winter, and 1-meter-long Japanese amberjack appear along the shore, plump with fatty meat.

During the summer months in the Sea of Japan, surface temperatures reach 30º Celsius, and marine life flourishes. Along the shore, young fish born in the spring pursue food to sustain their growth, battling fierce competition to survive. Offshore, migratory species such as yellowtail amberjack ride the Tsushima Current north into the sea. Summer is also a precious season for people who live with the sea, for it generously welcomes them into its waters. Female divers known as ama maintain a 400-year old practice of free diving for shellfish. The program explores the life that flourishes in the Sea of Japan in summer.