“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?

Rice field at sunset, viewed from inside express train from Chiba

御宿海岸から家に帰る途中に、田んぼが見えます。

On the way home from the beach.

Rice field at sunset in Onjuku, Chiba, near the ocean

駅のホームで、東急の電車を待っているときに、この田んぼの写真をとりました。濃い緑の映像を東京に持って来るといいと思いました。

I took this image on the Onjuku station platform, waiting to take the express train back to Tokyo. After spending the afternoon on the beach, the sight of the deep green rice fields was a happy image to bring back to the city.