3 in 30 - 2000.11.11 Saturday

Chuo line train coming into the station at Haijima.

Chuo line train coming into the station at Haijima.

Returning from a quick trip to the office on the air base, I took a slightly different route home. I don't usually go over the bridge that crosses the train tracks. I stopped long enough to take this snapshot looking from the bridge into the northwest corner of our neighborhood.

On the left in the distance, you can see the thirteen story apartment building where I stood to take last week's pictures. To the right in the picture is the new 12 story apartment building that is a sort of marker for the northwestern corner of the neighborhood.

I didn't happen to notice where the train was going that is pulling into the station. One the other hand, the picture was taken at about the time when a train passes through on its way into Tokyo.

Narrow walkway between houses.

Narrow walkway between houses.

There is another section of the neighborhood that we had not visited because of its odd placement. There is a small triangle of Matsubara-cho that is separated from the larger part by Highway 16. Except for buildings boardering the highway, it is mostly a residential area with only three streets. There are a few small walkways and I happened to catch this woman on her bicycle as she rounded the corner. As she drove by, she apologized for being in my picture. It isn't a problem.

On the right is a new apartment building, probably built in the past five years. Behind that is a two story house that looks at most fifteen years old. In front of that is an older house that may be thirty or forty years old. It is a style that is repeated in western Tokyo when there was major growth in the area and a concerted effort to put people in houses. (Our friend Saito-san will correct me if I'm wrong.)

The tree to the left is a persimon tree and the fruits are just beginning to ripen. The lovely red-orange fruit may stay on the tree all winter like colorful ornaments on bare tree limbs if they are not picked and eaten.

Small vegetable plot hanging onto tradition of this being a farming area.

Navigating my way back to the house, I passed this small vegetable garden. As was mentioned early in this series, much of this area used to be farm land with small plots of about a quarter of an acre. This plot is surrounded by houses.

Since we are so far south, the growing season is nearly all year long. The first row is a fairly new planing of daikon radish. These are mild radishes used in hundreds of dishes from pickles to soups. Behind that is a row of broccoli and then a row of a large leafed vegetable with long stems. The root is small and also eaten. The two trees in the near ground seem to be fruit trees though which fruit is a mystery to me at this point.

I don't think the empty coffee and soda cans will come to maturity soon.

This file was last updated on 04 Feb, 2023