Petasites japonicus

Fuki shoot is a typical plant that tells the arrival spring. You can see snow in the background though.

I met a close friend of mine, who quit university recently to start walking a new path. I strongly remember the first time I met him on the very first day I entered university, 5 years ago. He was sitting in front of me and suddenly asked me "Do you like mountains?" because I was wearing a Columbia jacket, whereas he was a North Face jacket. Since then we have been good friends (and will be). Unfortunately I didn't manage to see him when I came back to Hokkaido this autumn because just before that he left Japan for the Philippines to learn web designing. As he came back to Hokkaido last week, we eventually met again today. Coincidentally I was wearing the same columbia jacket, which I seldom wear nowadays, but his jacket was Patagonia.

Next week, he is moving to Yoichi, about 60 km away from Sapporo.

May the force be with him.