3 in 30 - 2000.06.24
Our local tofu vendor on his rounds
We are fortunate to have several items we use delivered to our door. In addition to a daily newspaper, a man comes around the neighborhood on his bicycle selling homemade tofu. He comes around several times a week down our alleyway at about four in the afternoon. We are usually home to buy his tofu only on Saturdays. We have been home occasionally on other days and hear him.
He has a horn which he blows occasionally to announce where he is. Since we don't always get tofu on a regular basis, when we want some, we have to listen for his horn. He doesn't come knocking on people's doors. You will notice his horn hanging from a string around his neck. We are in the middle of the rainy season too, so he is properly attired in a raincoat and hat.
Neighor's house always with flowers
We have spoken on occasion about how wonderful our neighbors have been over the years. Another of our neighbors just down the alley spends her free time tending her flowers. We are embarrased that we don't know the names of all our neighbors. She probably won't be reading this page, so she probably doesn't know that we refer to her as the Flower Lady. It is a pleasure to go out our alley each day because she keeps her entrance area full of blooming flowers of the season.
No matter what the season, it seems that there are some plants that seem to be in bloom. I don't know where they keep them, because the area that their house sits on has nearly no space around it. Still, every week or so, a new series of plants appear.
This week of the rainy season, you can see two beautiful white and pink tiger lillies, deep blue hydrangea, violet iris, pink and white begonias and petunias, and others whose names I don't know. It seems like a small forest just outside the front door.
There is a short space that looks as though it might be someone's driveway, but in fact is is a public access area. It is about 4 meters wide and six meters deep. Bordering this tiny alleyway are five separate residences.
One house, which I had never really noticed before, seems to be empty. At least there are some weeds which would normally be pulled up. In the corner of what would be a parking area, is this large hydrangea bush. It is not in full bloom yet, but in a few days, it should be a solid mass of blue flowers.
A corner of one of the houses on this alley can be seen to the right of the picture, and in the more distant background you can see the large apartment building referred to in 2000.3.18. The closer wooden house is the back of the Yamato-ya in 2000.5.20. It is built in an older style, but probably less than 50 years old. Most of the buildings around us have been built in the past twenty-five years. Most of the buildings in all of greater Tokyo have built in the last fifty. We are reminded that during World War II, most of Tokyo was completly leveled by firebombing. Since most of the structures were made of wood and paper, one firebomb spread fires throughout a large area very quickly.