the sea of clouds
the journal of Michael Werneburg
twenty-seven years and one million words
This morning I was picked up by my father-in-law at 06:45 for a trip up a mountain-side to see an effect for which the Japanese use the word 'unkai', meaning a 'sea of clouds'. The broad low plateau in which the city of Miyakonjo is located (see map below) was covered in low cloud that resulted from the previous day's moisture bleeding off into a new body of cold air that had moved in.
The effect was stunning. The tops of the largest trees, the tallest of buildings, some incinerator stacks, and the mobile phone towers were the only things that stood above the featureless white sea-scape. And standing all around the periphery were dark forested hills, the ragged edges of two volcanoes, and steep river valleys. There was something to see wherever the eye fell. Even a full moon hung ripe above it all (though it quickly set as the sun came up).
I was shooting film, it'll be a treat to get the pics back in the weeks to come. Here's where we were: