A rare natural phenomenon can transform an ordinary night into something extraordinary. Recently, red tide appeared along the coast of Kamakura, creating the conditions for bioluminescent plankton—known in Japan as yakōchū (“glow-in-the-dark insects of the sea”)—to light up the waves after dark.
I expected the sea to glow. What I did not expect was the number of people who would come to see it. Families with small children, groups of friends, and even noisy cars cruising the coastline all converged on the same destination. The glowing water was fascinating, but the crowd it attracted turned out to be even more memorable.
Yesterday, my wife had some errands in Hase and sent me a message saying that she had seen red tide along the way.
I replied that bioluminescent plankton would probably appear that night. Unfortunately, I was having dinner with friends and ended up getting home late.
Thankfully, my wife came to pick me up. I made it as far as Ōfuna on the Shōnan-Shinjuku Line without any trouble, but then I failed to notice that the platform had changed and missed a Yokosuka Line train. As a result, I kept her waiting longer than I intended.
She is not the type to sit idly in front of Kamakura Station, so she messaged me that she would drive around to Yuigahama while waiting.
Yet when I finally arrived, she did not show up for quite a while.
When she eventually appeared, she said:
“The traffic is terrible.”
I asked why there would be traffic so late at night.
“The beach is packed with people.”
That was when I realized what was happening.
Of course—everyone had come to see the bioluminescent plankton.
I asked if she would mind driving back toward the coast, and she gladly agreed.
The scene was astonishing.
There were crowds everywhere.
Many families had brought small children.
There were also plenty of cars that sounded as though they belonged to motorcycle gangs.
Route 134 was congested, and every parking lot was full.
In the end, all we managed to see was a faint blue band flickering in the distance over the dark sea.
Then we headed home.
What stayed with me was not the bioluminescent plankton itself, but the sight of so many people gathering along the shore in the middle of the night.
I suppose everyone had the same idea.
In a sense, the crowd was even more remarkable than the glowing sea.
Sometimes the most surprising part of a natural spectacle is not nature itself, but the people drawn to it.
・・・
Vocabulary for Learners
bioluminescent plankton（発光プランクトン、夜光虫）
化学反応によって光を発するプランクトン。夜の海が青白く光って見える現象の原因。
red tide（赤潮）植物プランクトンなどが大量発生し、海水が赤茶色に見える現象。
congested（渋滞した、混雑した）交通や人の流れが集中してスムーズに動けない状態。
Route 134 was congested.（134号線は渋滞していた）
flicker（ちらちら光る、明滅する）光が弱く不規則に点滅すること。
The sea flickered blue in the distance.
（遠くの海が青くちらちら光っていた）
shore（海岸、浜辺）海や湖に接する陸地。
People gathered along the shore.（人々が海岸に集まった）
spectacle（壮観な光景、見世物）人々の目を引く印象的な光景。
It was a remarkable spectacle.（それは印象的な光景だった）
drawn to ～（～に引き寄せられる、惹きつけられる）興味や魅力によって自然と向かうこと。
People were drawn to the glowing sea.
（人々は光る海に引き寄せられた）
idle（何もせずに過ごす）特に目的なく時間を過ごすこと。
She is not the type to sit idly and wait.
（彼女はただぼんやり待っているタイプではない）
remarkable（注目すべき、驚くべき）印象的で記憶に残るような。
The crowd was remarkable.
（その人出は驚くべきものだった）
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