This old fella’s garden may only be the meagre space on top of an air conditioning unit, but the plants there seem to get just as much attention as they would if they were growing somewhere more conventional.
Photographs from a small group of islands
This old fella’s garden may only be the meagre space on top of an air conditioning unit, but the plants there seem to get just as much attention as they would if they were growing somewhere more conventional.
Linda says
These gardens are my favorite thing about Tokyo. Usually I like them better without people but for you I make an exception.
Lee says
Haha, thank you!
They are lovely, aren’t they? That desire to have a garden of sorts regardless of the restrictions is to be roundly applauded.
John says
Gardening with chopsticks! 🙂
Lee says
Yes, that was the first thing I noticed when I initially walked past. Can’t say I know anything about gardening at all, but after watching him prod away in the plant pots, it seemed to make total sense. Even better was that despite interrupting him, he didn’t decide to also prod me in the eye with them!
cdilla says
Funny how those little pieces of cultured and cared-for greenery give the backstreets and alleyways a loved and lived in feel.
Even though we live in a nice quiet village such plants and pots would get targetted by destructive youths at some point or other.
I had to grin at the guys expression as on Sunday afternoon whilst wandering the village I chanced upon a similarly aged guy wheeling his bin out for collection today, wearing a dressing gown and slippers, and an almost identical expression. I didn’t even have a camera 🙂
Lee says
I know eh? The greenery makes a huge difference. Something that’s quite common too.
Yeah, sad to say that quite likely something would happen to them back in the UK. Or there’d certainly be a chance of something happening anyway. Japan has many faults, but fortunately that isn’t one of them.
If you did happen to have a camera, that would potentially have been a great shot!
john says
Well it explains those small trees!
Lee says
Haha, it certainly does!
john says
but the wheely bin does not explain the dressing gown on a Sunday afternoon.
cdilla says
Indeed not. The look seemed to be a mix mild annoyance at having to do the chore and irritation that I was looking at him, tempered with an underlying to-old-to-care attitude.