The small shrine near our apartment is preparing for new year. The entrance gate has pine and bamboo decorations, and the tent is ready for the celebration. This shrine is very charming because of its small scale and its housing our extremely local gods. I have found myself drawn here several times this year, and [...]
Archive for the ‘Community’ Category
22 Dec
Wild parrots in Hiroo
Walking on a small street in Hiroo, in central Tokyo, we heard a strange noise and saw some people staring at a persimmon tree. On closer examination, we saw that there was a flock of wild green parrots gathered in this tree. The green on orange colors perched on a leaf-less tree is sublime.
I have [...]
20 Dec
Street music
Many Tokyo train stations, and particularly Shinjuku station, are magnets for street musicians. Although not a “green space” in terms of biodiversity, street music contributes to livable streets and creative cities.
Music in public spaces makes streets and sidewalks more than places to pass through on the way to somewhere else. And with a continuous flow [...]
5 Dec
Aoyama ginkos
Less famous than spring cherry blossom viewing or fall maple viewing, the Aoyama ginkos draw a crowd to see the gorgeous double allée of ginkos turning bright yellow. Last weekend was probably the peak days, with just the right balance of leaves still on the trees and enough on the ground for children to toss [...]
3 Dec
Biodiversity Remakes Tokyo
The Huffington Post published my article entitled “Biodiversity Remakes Tokyo.” I will become a regular blogger, so if you like the article please leave a comment on the Huffington Post, post it to your Facebook account, or Tweet it to your friends. Thank you!
Here’s the first four paragraphs:
The Copenhagen UN Climate Change Conference addresses unparalleled [...]
2 Dec
Holiday plants in Metro & Odakyu stations
I am not a big fan of the artificial tree or of Christmas. But Japanese love holidays, imported and national. I wonder whether the stations planned these small seasonal displays, or if they were the initiatives of long-time workers.
I prefer the use of the flowering “Christmas” cactus at the Shinjuku Odakyu station. And below the [...]
29 Nov
Japan Times: Tokyo’s urban design role
The Japan Times published my op-ed article “Tokyo’s urban design role.” My argument is that Tokyo’s past urban design failures paradoxically make it a model for rebuilding existing cities and designing hundreds of emerging cities. In the context of climate change and global warming, livable cities can create a new balance between people and nature.
I [...]
25 Nov
Speaking at Pecha Kucha on December 2
Next Wednesday night (December 2) I will be speaking at Pecha Kucha night in Tokyo (click for map). The event brings together the widest possible variety of designers– including architects, fine artists, crafts, graphic designers, illustrators, and other creative types.
Pecha Kucha’s name comes from the Japanese phrase for “chit chat,” takes place in an informal [...]
22 Nov
Agris Seijo rental farm in Seijogakuenmae
I visited Odakyu’s Agris Seijo rental farm in Seijogakuenmae in Setagaya and was prepared to be charmed by a community vegetable farm built by a rail company above their tracks. Three years ago, the Odakyu corporation rebuilt the station, undergrounded the railway, and used some of the new land to promote urban farming. But I left [...]
13 Nov
Firefly habitat in Okayama
During an October visit to Okayama, a friend stumbled upon an amazing firefly habitat inNishigawa park, a small canal with a lovely walking path cutting through the center of the city. Although now hatching below water, as the sign above shows, it was amazing to see how a city creats an urban habitat for fireflies. [...]
11 Nov
Ginza Farm rice harvest
On November 1, Ginza Farm celebrated the rice harvest. The event began at 9 am on a Sunday morning and drew a crowd including children, parents, bloggers, an actress in an upcoming movie about farming, and the carpenter Hisano who built the beautiful tanbo, tables and benches. Above entrepreneur Iimura san helps the kids hang [...]
4 Nov
Speaking at Anthropology of Japan in Japan conference
This weekend I will be presenting a talk, “Urban Gardeners and the City of the Future,” in an Urban Japan panel at the Anthropology of Japan in Japan conference. It will be held at Temple University’s Japan campus, and my panel is Saturday November 7 from 1 pm to 3 pm along with papers on [...]
2 Nov
Public behavior: Tokyo’s advantage in building a livable city
A recent New York Times story about vandalism of Paris’ visionary Velib bike-sharing program highlighted an enormous advantage that Tokyo has in creating great public spaces: the respect that citizens pay to shared space and to each other.
To mitigate climate change, reduce traffic and clean the city’s air, Paris created a remarkable bike sharing program, [...]
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