Above is a kadomatsu, or new year’s decoration that rests on the ground. These large ones are usually in front of businesses. This one is in front of one of my favorite Tokyo haunts: the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium constructed for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and open to the public now in central Tokyo.
The materials are bamboo, [...]
Posts Tagged ‘bamboo’
31 Dec
New year decorations
26 Dec
Shrines prepares for new year
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 [...]
19 Dec
Shimekazari at Muji
On my way to price a vaccuum cleaner for our tatami floors (ended up buying at 1300 yen used vaccuum at a recycle shop), I was surprised to see this display of shimekazari at Muji, which was busy blasting Xmas music and offering holiday specials.
Shimekazari are end of the year Shinto displays for the home. [...]
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 [...]
9 Sep
Ginza Farm Update
Yesterday I stopped by Ginza Farm to check on the rice. As you can see in the photo above, the rice seeds are already forming. Despite the challenges of growing rice in a high rise-district, as Iimura-san explained last month, the plants are thriving.
In fifteen minutes, I saw fifteen visitors, plus the attention of the [...]
18 Aug
U Goto Florist
U Goto Florist in Roppongi is one of Tokyo’s oldest and most luxurious flower shops. The tray above is a stunning summer arrangement of bamboo fireflies, cactus candles and sand. Founded in 1892 and owned by the third generation of the same family, U Goto prides itself on being Western-style and employs three European flower [...]
15 Jul
Ginza rice farm
On a side street in Ginza, I noticed a rice farm and met Ginza Farm’s CEO Iimura Kazuki (飯村一樹) and his assistant who were tending the rice and two cute ducklings. Shop clerks and construction clerks stopped by to admire the rice in its mid-summer glory.
The rice farm occupies an empty lot. At the end [...]
18 Apr
Earth Day Tokyo
Today and tomorrow in Yoyogi Park, more than 100,000 people are expected to attend Earth Day Tokyo. Hundreds of booths offered everything from natural maternity to bamboo crafts, organic foods and clothes, bio-diesel vehicles, free Tibet, save the baby seals, music ranging from all girl rock band to Hawaiian song, more cute and strange mascots [...]
Recent Comments