年末に、ツバキの花が幸せにしてくれます。
small streets
A very urban, summer scene, with yukata sidewalk party, Odakyu train, and office tower
都市の夏景色かもしれない。歩道に浴衣パーティーや小田急線の電車やオフィスタワーが見えます。
This dream home driveway mesmerizes me
車が嫌いなのに、この私道に魅力を感じます。
Maybe because it’s so retro, this scene is so cool.
Quiet weekday at Kamakura is the best
お盆休みは忙しかったようですが、夏の平日の鎌倉は静かです。
I imagine it’s crazy during Obon holiday, but a weekday visit to Kamakura in the summer is relaxed.
Modern and baroque mix in narrow alley
小田急線と代々木公園の間の狭い路地には、モダンでバロックなスタイルがあります。
One of my bike shortcuts.
Mini-flower vase at Omotesando Koffee
Omotesando Koffee の小さな花瓶。
“Have you seen my rice field?”
「私たちの田んぼを見ましたか」と聞かれました。畳屋のオーナーは歩道に置いたバケツで稲を育てています。Shibaura HouseのKanto Tour Guideの途中で偶然に会いました。家の畳を変えようかと考えています。
On Shibaura House’s Kanto Tour Guide in Suginami, we saw an open door and a man making tatami mats above the garage. The friendly proprietor of Haketa Tatami shop in Shin Koenji told us that his family has had this business in Suginami for decades, starting with his father. In addition to showing us his craftsmanship, he asked us whether we had seen his “rice field.” It’s in the white bucket, to the left of the shop sign.
I also learned that tatami mats should be changed every 3 or 4 years. Ours are coming up on 6 years, so maybe it’s time to order a new set?
Well, hello, wild palm tree!
小さな路地に出てきたのは、野生のヤシです。
In a small alley near our home, I found this wild palm growing out of a kanamemochi hedge.
Can you imagine inviting clients to visit your office *there*?
このビルにお客さんを招待できますか。
An enormous black slab of a tower is nearly complete in the center of Kabukicho. Who is going to work there? Can you imagine inviting clients to visit your office *there*?
Did I mention how much I love Taipei?
台北が大好きです。壁やどこにでも植物が育ちます。屋上を楽しく使っていて、狭い路地がいっぱいあります。
Plants growing everywhere, people building shacks and hanging out on rooftops, narrow alleys.
Tokyo street gardens, new article and photographs published by Ikebana International
東京の路上の庭についての記事と写真が『Ikebana International』（国際生け花）という雑誌に載りました。英語だけで申し訳ありませんが、是非、記事のコピーをご覧になってください (PDF, 1.4 MB)。
Ikebana International asked me to write about Tokyo street gardens and share my photos for their member-supported publication that dates back to 1956. Thanks to the editor Kim Schuefftan for allowing me to reach a very different garden audience. I am curious what Ikebana International and Tokyo Green Space readers think about the article, Tokyo Street Gardens: Unrecognized Beauty (7 page PDF, 1.4 MB). Volume 58, Issue 2, pp 24-30. 2014.
Does this qualify as urban wildlife?
これは都市の野生動物と言えるでしょうか。新高円寺のルック商店街で。
Tokyo street gardeners are rule breakers
東京の路地に小さな庭のスペースを作る方は、一般のルールに従わないところが素敵です。このブログの写真を使って、友達のショウさんがBell Street Filmsと一緒に３０秒のビデオを作ってくれました。去年、ショウさんはベランダの庭にデザイン人類学校と東京グリーンスペースについてビデオを作りました。
This 30 second clip features my photographs of flowerpot gardens and stories about their makers, who explain to me how they break the law in order to create safer streets. Last year, my friend Sho’s Bell Street Films made a short video about Tokyo Green Space and design anthropology, shot mostly in my balcony garden.
Remnants of Shinto ceremony on ground, sometime between demolition and new construction
去年、取り壊された家の場所で、測量技師が仕事をしています。広告や神道儀式のあとが見えます。中野で。
The two neighboring houses which I watched get demolished last summer are showing signs of activity: a realtor banner, a surveyor, and a pile of fallen bamboo from a Shinto ceremony. In Nakano.
In late autumn, Hakone station area buildings echo colors of hillside
晩秋、箱根駅のまわりの建物は山の色と共鳴します。
Tokyo Green Space 