It was a fine day on Thursday(28) of June in 2007 before rainy season begins Niigata.

  I took my wife and went to Oguni-numa in Ura-bandai. I used to visit here every year, especially in this season.

  Oguni-numa is the highest lake in Ura-bandai of about 800 meters in height. It was formed by volcanic origin, a kind of caldera-lake.

  Around the lake there is a vast marshland. Orange-yellow lilies called "nikko-kisuge" bloom in early summer. They turn the marsh into orange color. Many people visit here to see this wonderful view.

  It took one and a half hour to get to Oguni-numa from a parking lot of Osisawa in Ura-bandai. It was a pleasant hike through a beech forest, following the river. There was a wooden rest house beside the lake.

  We took a walk along the lake side to the marshland for another 30 minutes. A wooden plank was laid out around in the marsh. Following the wooden path, we took a walk around the marsh for 20 minutes.

  Colonies of yellowish lilies were in full bloom this year. It looked like a yellow carpet. Many hikers walked around in the marsh and took pictures. Everybody was impressed with seeing this wonderful view.

  After that we came back to the rest house to take lunch.