Baikamo, a pretty white flower blooming underwater in a cold, clear stream

It was extremely hot from the morning today, so I went to see the underwater flower "Baikamo" in Samegai, Maibara City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. The Baikamo have started to bloom in the local river (Jizo River), where cold groundwater gushes forth. The water temperature of Jizo River is stable at about 14 degrees Celsius throughout the year, and it is cool around the river. (Photos were taken on July 8th and 9th)

There are still many buds, and the best season to see them is August. I put my waterproof compact digital camera in the stream to take a picture. Baikamo is not algae, though. It is a perennial grass. 

This is the flower of Baikamo blooming underwater.

This is Jizo River where Baikamo grows. This small river originates from about only 100m ahead where cold underwater gushes out.
 

Baikamo blooms underwater, so a photo taken over the water is not clear.　But I couldn’t take a underwater photo of them because this Baikamo grows in the center of the river. 

Tourists visited to see the Baikamo. On the right, Jizo river where the Baikamo grows. On the left, one of the long-established stores of Japanese sweets.

I ordered Mizu manju at the store. Mizu manju is a Japanese sweet which is eaten during the summer and simply put is red bean paste inside clear jelly. 

This Mizu manju is a Ramune flavor, where the light blue bean paste is visible. Ramune is a Japanese soda drink which tastes like Sprite.

If you are going by public transportation, please get off at JR Samegai station of JR Tokaido Line. It takes about 10 minutes by walk. JR Samegai station is station number CA82, one station from JR Maibara station, the main station.