Nakano and Koenji are nowhere in the new Tokyo Metro tourist poster

外国人の観光客のために、シンプルな東京メトロの新しい地図ができました。観光客は山手線ばかりを使ってしまいます。中野と高円寺が入っていません。

Tokyo Metro, in one of its first large communication efforts for foreigners, has helpfully simplified Tokyo transit for those ready to go beyond the Yamanote JR loop line and the Sobu-Chuo metro commuter lines. Cool Tokyo, Night Life, Metropolitan Luxury, and Cultural Fusion are newly invented geographies with some suggested destinations.

I am secretly glad not to see Nakano and Koenji on the map. We can be “off the radar. I also wonder how well the tiny interactive Journey Planner works. The initial screen looks like the map threw up on itself in four languages. I guess it’s a start.

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“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?

View towards Koenji from hallway makes me wonder where are the trees?

高円寺の方角の景色はきれいだけど、木が見えませんね。

The opposite side of the apartment from our balcony is a hallway with an enormous view of inner west Tokyo, including the Chuo and Sobu line trains. There’s a serious shortage of trees and open space.

Koenji has a mix of styles from different decades

高円寺のルックという商店街には、違う時代からのいろいろな建物とサインのスタイルがあります。

On Koenji’s Look shopping street, the mix of building styles and signage is fun.

Lush temple entrance in Koenji

入り口から、お寺に続く石畳です。梅雨で、緑が濃いです。高円寺で。

Peering through the entryway, a stone path leads to the temple. Everything is lush in rainy season.

A woman walks her pet turtle in the rain, at a Koenji shopping street

長いあいだ、東京に住んでいるので、もうおどろくことはないと思いました。けれども、高円寺のルックという商店街で雨の日に、亀と一緒に散歩している人に会いました。亀は足を前方と後ろに動かして、頭は見回しています。

亀は濡れているのがきらいだと言いました。だから、オーナーはタオルで亀をふいてあげます。こんな都市の動物と人間の友情はすばらしいと思います。

Sometimes, I think nothing surprises me any more in Tokyo. And then I see this lovely woman walking down Koenji’s Look shopping street with her pet turtle. The turtle looks like he is swimming in air, legs reaching forward and back and eyes taking in the surroundings.

The human guardian explains that she is carrying this towel under her umbrella to wipe off the turtle. Apparently, her turtle does not like to get wet! Thanks to both of them for adding some cheer to a rainy day.

Elegant temple entrance on Koenji backstreet

高円寺のお寺の長い入口は素敵です。梅も咲いています。

I bike down a back street to visit my favorite Shin Koenji coffee shop. I pass several temples with well maintained gardens. The long entrance looked particularly elegant on a cold, sunny day. Just to the side of the gate, a plum tree is blooming.

Waiting for cherry buds to open in Koenji

桜のつぼみが開くのを待っています。高円寺に。

 

Winter palm and white camellia cover Tokyo residence

生い茂ったサザンカと背の高いシュロのヤシが明るい冬の風景を作っています。高円寺で。

I love this winter scene of rampant white camellia and tall native palms, with plenty of dead fronds still attached to the crown. The wild landscape makes the house cozy and bright in the cold weather.

Fresh off electoral defeat, tanuki hosts Santanuki party in Koenji this Friday. Please come.

金曜日、１２月２１日、２０時半から、タヌキのサンタさんと、パーティをしましょう。高円寺のDynamoで待っています。プレセントがいっぱいですよ〜。@dynamo_koenji に感謝です。

Please come to Tanuki’s first ever Koenji Xmas party this Friday at Dynamo, a skate-board bar with felafel! Thanks @dynamo_koenji.

Friday, December 21, from 8.30 pm

Koenji Kita 3-1-1, Asahi building 1F

Dynamo’s website

Olives fruiting above a backstreet in Koenji

高円寺の路地は、オリーブが多いです。

On a backstreet in Koenji, I came across this olive tree. That looks like a lot of olives, doesn’t it?

Bamboo scaffolding for training pine tree

高円寺のお寺の入口には、素敵な松があります。竹の支えもきれいですね。

Now that’s a formal entrance to a Buddhist temple in Koenji!

Colorful protests continue against pro-nuke government

毎週金曜日、東京で再稼働反対のデモがあります。このフィルムの写真は新宿の小さなデモでとりました。コズプレも音楽も、いろいろな人たちが居て楽しいです。この抗議は原発の問題がよい方向に変わるのではないかと思わせてくれます。

There are protests in front of the Prime Minister’s Residence every Friday in favor of ending nuclear power. The protests have been the largest and most sustained since the 1960s. The national government and largest corporations are eager to re-start the plants that were shut down after the Fukushima nuclear crisis.

I often join a Koenji group’s demonstrations. These photos are from a smaller march. I like the range of people, the costumes, music, and sense of fun and hope. These are all film photos.

“We’re not doing energy savings,” a restaurant announces on sign board

高円寺のレストランの看板に「節電してませ〜ん」と書いてあります。政府とマスメディアを信じていないと、抗議しているのだと思います。@KoenjiLook

This Koenji restaurant on Look shotengai is bragging on their sign board that they are not doing energy savings, and that it’s cool inside. Thanks to Chris from A Small Lab for noticing this! Now that we’re in our second summer after Fukushima, many people dismiss government and mass media campaigns to save energy. There’s rebellion in the air.

Koenji street looks like narrow country lane, with stone walls and old gardens

自転車で高円寺から戻ってくるときに、この狭い路地を見つけました。数十年前の田舎の雰囲気 があります。

I found this lane when biking home from Koenji. I felt like I was in a small town, many decades ago.