Sakura after the Bloom

Rin Tin Tin Grocery Store Promotion

 Collect stickers with purchases and GET! a dish.

Dream Hall on the Way to Fuchu no Mori Park, Higashi- Fuchu

Through the sakura branches you can see Fuchu no Mori Art Theater's Dream Hall.

Drifts of sakura petals.


We go to "The Nutcracker" at Dream Hall in December. Fuchu no Mori Park is down the street.

Fuchu no Mori Park at Higashi-Fuchu

Sakura lane.

A mother with a child on the back of her bicycle heads back toward the fountain. Click to enlarge the photo.


A view from the side.


Petals in the gutter.


Fuchu no Mori Koen--for information in English

Sakura by Car

There are street after street of sakura near Ajinomoto Stadium at Tobitakyu, Chofu.

What's the Blue?

The pink is the peach blossom tree in our garden. So what's the blue?


Baba's laundry hanger. I've posted other photos of laundry hangers from other gardens.


But I haven't posted this. It is the window box outside our second floor dining room window.


When we first moved in, I used to put potted plants there. After I watered them, they'd drip on Baba's laundry or futon. Baba and Aunt live downstairs. Usually there is more laundry hanging outside their sitting rooms.

Taking the Nets Home

Our vegetable stand man is taking a rest before he heads home.

Brown-eared Bubul Enjoying Sakura

Blue Skies

This is the peach tree in our garden in west Tokyo yesterday before the storm. Can you find the pigeon?

The peach tree did very well in the storm. Wonder where the pigeon is.

There were sparrows

in and near the sakura down in the park. There's not a cloud in the sky


except over Mt. Fuji.

Changes after the Storm

The storm stopped trains in Tokyo and grounded planes. From a distance it looks like the fields out here in west Tokyo came through the storm okay.


Some of the netting was blown off,

but there was also some damage. It could have been worse.


This idea worked well.


The vegetable stand man and his wife have taken down the boards and are back to work. See this post to see the preparations for the storm.

Changes in the Field

Our vegetable stand man usually covers some young plants with plastic to protect them.


This morning he was putting nets over the plastic for more protection. A big storm is coming toward Japan.



It is a lot of work! (The patch of green in the right foreground is broccoli that has been harvested, so he's not protecting it.)


The farmer of the other field had help. They put nets down to prevent the plastic from flying away. This is the first time I have seen them do it.


Work continued as usual after all the net was laid out. By 10:00 AM the wind was already picking up a lot. Fortunately, the nets were holding everything down.


After lunch, the vegetable stand man and his wife closed up for the day. They hammered boards to the end of the stand to protect it from the strong winds that may come our way.

New York Launch of TOMO

Details for the New York launch of Tomo can be found here.

Click on the image for its amazon page. Proceeds of the sale of the book will benefit teen programs in the tsunami affected areas of Japan.

World Poetry Day on YARN

My poem was selected for World Poetry Day on the Young Adult Review Network (YARN).
Have a look here.

Check back in April. YARN will celebrate National (US) Poetry Month.

Spring Equinox

It was a national holiday today here in Japan. Tokyo weather was springy for the equinox. I spent time in the garden looking at all the buds and greenery coming out and up. I was happy to see so many buds on this fruitless peach tree! I've been worried about it in the past. Here are two posts about the tree in March 2010.

I was really worried about Great-grandfather's bonsai plum trees this year. They bloomed over a month late! They usually bloom in February.

I'm glad they bloomed, but they are scraggly. I am responsible for them and I must do a better job! Actually, most plum trees in the area have bloomed late this year so it's not all my fault. Last summer was overly hot and dry.

Thank you, Japan. Thank you from Japan.

Out for an appointment this week in Tokyo, I noticed something new on the front of the bus.

It's been one year since the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. Click on the photo to enlarge it. The sign says in English, "Japan. Thank you." Perhaps what is meant is "Thank you from Japan."

Anyway, thank you Japan for being a symbol of strength and dignity through this year! And thank you, World, for supporting Japan through this difficult time!

This sign appeared on a neighborhood yaki niku restaurant right after March 11th. It says, "Ganbarou Nihon." Some people translate it as, "Be strong Japan." Some say, "Hang in there, Japan." Others say, "Try to do your best, Japan."

This sign was on the shinkasen Big Sister and I took to Hakone in May, 2011. Ganbarou Nihon!

I saw signs everywhere. Keep it up Japan! And keep it up, World. Japan still needs our support!

N.B. The Japanese phrase is transliterated phonetically.