Back in Japan for Spring

Spring and back in Japan. The winter has been long and particularly cold with a lot of snow. I'm glad I missed it. Following such weather the riot of spring is truly a riot. We simply do not have such a contrast in Australia. Most plants here are annuals or dissiduous so in winter there is not a green thing to be seen. It is also the driest season so everything is brown or grey and it doesn't help that Tokyo seems to be the concrete capital of the world.

Around our house things are starting to look lovely. Diagonally across the road is an 800 year old shrine with a cherry tree.

The neighbours are planting their summer vegetable gardens and their tulips are in full bloom





Soon there will come a warm weekend, usually in Mid may when it seems the whole neighbourhood is in their fields planting rice. 

It is one of the nice things about where we live in the outer suburbs. Although there are factories and some fairly ghastly main roads full of fast food joints and Pachinko parlors, there are ancient temples, lots of vegetable gardens, farmers markets and flowers.

And the neighbour's kid chasing butterflies.