Vines and tall bush form kitchen curtain

雨に濡れた朝、部屋と都市の間のミニジャングルに、ベランダの木の葉やつるの植物が見えます。

On a wet morning, the balcony foliage forms a mini jungle between apartment and city.

What Nakano looks like on a wet morning

雨に濡れた朝の中野はこんな感じです。

Giant cactus flower with night raindrops

東京のサボテンは素敵です。今月、たくさん雨が降りましたが、このサボテンは大丈夫です。この写真に、大きい花と夜の雨のしずくが映っています。

August suddenly became wet and cool last week. I love seeing this giant cactus flowering outside a nearby restaurant. I like how incongruous cactuses are in this humid weather, and yet seemingly adaptable to being cared for in pots. The restaurant’s odd name Groin Groin may have discouraged me from eating there, but I admire the restaurant for activating the sidewalk with their unusual plants.

Grass going to seed on a Shinjuku sidewalk

歩道のねこじゃらしから種ができています。このねこじゃらしは人間の助けなしでも、東京の真ん中で元気そうです。新宿のネオンがこの自然を超自然的に見せています。ここでは、自然と都市が調和して見えます。

Tokyo summer has been incredibly hot, humid, and wet. I love seeing this grass growing on a sidewalk a few steps from Shinjuku station. The bright neon makes the grass glow in a hyper-reality. This perfect complement to its surroundings appears with no human planning. Looking at it going to seed I am sure it will multiply.

Azaleas blooming on a wet spring day

春の雨の中でツツジが咲いている。この花は東京にも私の出身地にもよく咲きます。

This azalea is blooming in two colors on a wet spring day. Azaleas remind me of the mid-Atlantic in the United States, as they are commonly planted with Japanese maples, rhododendron, and flowering cherry trees. The rhaphis palm that serves as a companion plant is better suited to Tokyo than the frost-prone mid-Atlantic. In Tokyo, azaleas are often planted in low hedges alongside boulevards, as well as in traditional and small residential gardens.

Ginkos at Waseda

On a cold and wet fall day, the bright yellow ginkos at Waseda University animate the sky. Like cherry blossoms, ginko’s fall foliage is dramatic and brief.