At SUGI BEE GARDEN, we practice a method called "mobile beekeeping," and as seasonal flowers bloom,

They harvest honey as they migrate north.

This annual tradition has arrived once again this year.

It was the hottest day so far this year in Kumamoto Prefecture, and the bees were still active well into the evening.

The bees finally calmed down around 7:30 pm when the sun went down.

The hives are then covered and the loading onto the truck begins.

Each box weighs about 30kg. In normal years, it weighs about 20kg, so when you lift it,

I heard the beekeeping club members say "It's heavy!" many times.

In this humid climate, just wearing the beekeeping uniform makes you sweat.

Seeing the beekeeping club members going back and forth between the hives and the truck repeatedly reminds me that beekeeping is a very tough job.

The hives are transferred from Nishizato Apiary, where they are kept, to a light truck and then transported about 15 minutes away to the beekeeping office, where they are loaded onto a large truck.

The work of loading the honey onto the trucks was done with great care for the bees.

Teamwork is demonstrated.

To prevent the stacked hives from collapsing, three people tied a rope to the top and pulled it up.

We put ice between the bees to prevent them from feeling stressed.

They carefully loaded each item one by one, calling out to each other.

The loading was completed at 9:30 pm.

The sight of the hives, which were stacked over a period of about two hours, was truly impressive, and the sight of the truck setting off for Akita was very impressive.

The bees made the long journey of about 2,400 km from Kumamoto Prefecture to Akita Prefecture and arrived safely.

We look forward to them collecting lots of delicious honey before they return to Kumamoto in July!