A few weeks ago I came upon this flower. None of my photos of it came out very good because the flower had so many layers and my camera only wanted to focus on one at a time. A Japanese man appeared and told me the flower is called 時計草 (tokeiso or clock grass). In English I think it is called blue passion flower (Passiflora caerulea). The Japanese name made perfect sense as it did look like a fancy clock with hour, minute, and second hands. The man said the flower only blooms for two days. I don’t know if he is correct or not, but that may help explain why I’ve never seen it before (or since).

Posted on June 21st, 2010 under Japan. Tags: nature. Comments: 7

The Japanese plum blossoms have been blooming in Tokyo since about February 5. Unlike the cherry blossoms of late March and early April, they aren’t quite as spectacular. They do have the advantage of lasting longer though.

They come in both pink…

…and white, but my favorite come with…

…a little green flying creature.

Posted on February 28th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: nature, ume. Comments: None

Another photo that came out rather well from our canoeing tour on Lake Aoki…

While on the mountain biking portion of the tour, we took a brief rest at Suwa Jinja (諏訪神社) in Hakuba. We have a Suwa Shrine near our apartment in Tokyo too. The colors were changing at the Hakuba shrine, and the atmosphere was quite peaceful.

Posted on November 15th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: hakuba, nature, shinto. Comments: 1

Next stop on our Grutt Pass tour of Tokyo was 国立科学博物館附属自然教育園. That’s a mouthful. It doesn’t get much better in English with “Institute for Nature Study, National Museum of Nature and Science.”

This place is walking distance from Meguro Station. If you are looking for an uncrowded piece of nature in Tokyo then this is it. We were even there on a Sunday afternoon (by far the worst time to visit such places), and it was still very peaceful. No more than 300 people are allowed into the 200,000 square meter area at a time which means you’ll have plenty of elbow room.

Linda and Ryan enjoyed one of the ponds on the grounds while an old Japanese couple ate a bento nearby.

The trees in this place are really beautiful. There are countless kinds. They were all still very green for us in early November, but the place must be even more gorgeous in late November when the colors change.

Posted on November 13th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: grutt pass, nature, people, susuki, Tokyo. Comments: 2

The view from Matsukawa Bridge (松川橋) of the Japanese Northern Alps (白馬三山) and the Matsu River

Another shot from Lake Aoki (aokiko or 青木湖)

Note that if you have a big screen you can see larger versions by clicking on the photos.

Posted on November 12th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: hakuba, nature. Comments: 2