As I was filming, I got the urge to try it myself and took on the challenge of harvesting bekanbe. Bekanbe originally grows upside down in the water, so you have to flip the leaves over by hand to pick the nuts. However, the nuts that are ready for harvest come off easily, and as soon as you turn the leaf over, they pop off and sink into the lake. It's extremely difficult... And since the bekanbe nuts are spiky, it hurts if you grab them too hard. It looks easy, but it's a task that requires skill and patience.

The nuts growing on the underside of the leaf. What's being pinched by the fingers is a bekanbe.

You grab the leaf like this and flip it to pick the nut, but the nut is very fragile and often falls off... Mr. Tosa, with his practiced hands, keeps picking them one after another while chatting.

I was preoccupied with the bekanbe harvest, but Lake Toro in the early morning sunrise was enveloped in a truly magical landscape. Being close to Kushiro, the climate is prone to fog, and it's common for fog to roll in during the mornings at this time of year.

Lake Toro shrouded in fog. If you're lucky, you might see deer coming for a drink of water.

A flower blooming on the mystical water surface of Lake Toro.

When the fog starts to clear, it's beautiful in a different way.