Missed the Gingko

We didn't get out to see the gingko trees this year. Have a look at older posts by clicking on the label below. Click on this photo to enlarge it.

Fried Fish Patties on Sticks

This stall was at the ichou (gingko tree) festival.

This is called iwashi genkotsu. The fish is not a whole piece of fish. It is a patty made of ground fish, but the texture is not like ground beef. It's really tasty. Look, this stall keeper keeps his change in a dish.

A steamer.

Gingko Trees in Aoyama

Many streets in Tokyo are lined with gingko trees. There is a festival for viewing ichou or gingko trees in Aoyama, Tokyo. I'll post pictures of the stalls of food tomorrow.

We came here in December 2006 and the trees were completely yellow. Click on the link below to see other posts about gingko trees.

The trees here are still very green, so if you're in the Tokyo area and want to visit this festival you may want to wait a little longer.

Temple Treats

These men were selling gingko nuts. This is the season for gingko nuts.

Here is glutinous rice with azuki bean paste inside. They are yummy.

Little Brother, Big Sister, and I had one of these.

These are called dango, balls of glutinous rice on a stick. Some are dipped in sauce. Some have azuki bean paste on them. The black paste is black sesame seed paste. All of these are delicious, too. Papa had one with azuki bean paste on it.

These sweets are always sold at the temple, but there were more vendors today.

Note: I have seen the Japanese word azuki written as "adzuki" in English.

Tokyo Station

Tokyo station is the old red brick building down the street. It is one of the busiest stations in Tokyo. There is now a lot of construction around it.

Golden gingko leaves.

Near the Palace

These pictures were taken from the car. There are still gingko trees with leaves on them. There are many leaves on the ground, too. I love how the city leaves them blowing around on the ground for all of us to enjoy. Click on the label below to see more pictures of trees.

There are wide open spaces in some parts of the city.

This is a closer look at the buildings in the picture above. Two big buildings are being built. That is a big red crane on top of that building in the back. The building in the front on the right is under construction. If you click on the picture, you can see cranes on the top of it, too.

Toranomon Tokyo

This is the flag in front of the American Embassy in Tokyo. I took this picture as we passed by in the car. The flag looked like it was waving at us.

Another scene from the car. More gingko trees.

A delivery motorcycle. And even more gingko trees.

There is a little wooden cart on the street. It looks like a food vendor. The vendor probably opens in the evening when there is a rush of people.

Gingko Festival in Aoyama, Tokyo

Papa saw my posts of gingko trees and wanted to go to the Ichou (Gingko tree) Festival in Aoyama, Tokyo today. My first thought was, "I don't need any more pictures of Gingko trees." But I couldn't resist. I suggest clicking on the photos to enlarge them.

We walked along the yellow leaf sidewalk in a crowd of people.



We all stopped from time to time to take pictures. When the wind blew and leaves fell, everyone went "ooooo" like the green faced aliens in the movie Toy Story. It was magnificent!



There were many good pictures taken along the way. This one was taken at the end of the street.

Ichou Festival Vendors

Besides beautiful gingko trees, there were many food vendors at the festival.


This is yaki soba, grilled noodles.


Another vendor.


More food. I am shocked that the chopsticks were stuck in the food like that. At a wake, chopsticks are placed upright in a bowl of rice that is set out for the person who died. My Japanese students were shocked when I did it years ago at a restaurant in Texas. I had rested them there to take a sip of tea. It was a big no-no.



And speaking of chopsticks. This little guy had cotton candy on a wooden chopstick. He was moving pretty fast so the picture was blurry.

Gingko Trees

Gingko trees are planted along streets.



Along highways.



In school yards.

And in parks. This is one part of Nogawa Koen.

Gingko Trees in Nogawa Koen (Park)

A golden carpet under the gingko trees or maiden hair trees in Nogawa Koen. The trees are called ichou in Japanese. Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

If you enlarge this picture, you may be able to see the falling leaves.

Gingko Leaves and Trunk

Do these leaves look like a maiden's hair?

These leaves started turning brown on the edges.

Fall Colors on Tokyo Streets

The trees on the right are gingko trees. I hope they are male. Click on the "trees" label to find out why.

The willow trees are still green.


The matsu or pine trees are evergreen.

Stink Bomb Tree

An American friend who once lived in Japan wrote in a greeting card, "May all the gingko trees in your neighborhood be male."

Well, what does that mean? See the yellow thing in the picture? The female tree produces this fruit that is really stinky. So stinky some call the tree "stink bomb tree". The tree is also called the "maidenhair tree" because of the shape of the leaf. Gingko trees are also called "living fossils" because scholars have found prehistoric evidence of them.

Gingko trees are gorgeous in the fall. Their fruit season is in the fall. Fortunately, most gingko trees along city streets are male.

This is the sidewalk in front of the American School. Unfortunately, the gingko trees here are female. Some fruit had plopped down on the sidewalk. Some people say gingko fruit smells like vomit. I think so. I was careful not to step on these. It looks like someone learned the hard way. These were smushed. Probably under somebody's foot. Imagine sitting in class with stink bomb fruit on your shoes!

More chrysanthemums. Many people put big chrysanthemums by their entrances. It's a nice sign of fall.