3 in 30 - 2000.11.18 Saturday
Center Home TOP. Kind of like our local Ace Hardware
Years ago, when we first moved to this neighborhood, we located this general purpose department store nearby. We patronize this Center Home TOP at least once a month. The variety of goods they offer range from plants and garden implements to small home electronics and kitchen tools to inexpensive home furnishings and auto and bicycle parts.
In the spring we get plants to go around the house. Any time of the year we pick up assorted tools and lights and batteries or an occasional kitchen item. We picked up a piece of carpet here for Candy's room a few years ago, then a bookcase, and continuing odds and ends.
It has one of the larger parking lots in the neighborhood.
Bush garden.
Nearing the southeast corner of Matsubara-cho, there is this plot where someone is growing bushs whose name I do not know. They have small leaves and as you can see lend themselves to shaping. It is quite a common bush here and we have at least four in our yard.
Three of them I try to keep trimmed round and low, while the other is more like a tree with bushy lolly-pop arms. They all need to be trimmed at least twice a year, probably more in order to maintain their shape.
These, they will dig up, keeping a small root ball and transplant to someone's yard. It will thrive, unlike a plant receiving similar treatment back in Colorado.
west along the Chuo line
While actually on a trip to LAOX, and taking these snapshots, I passed what would be the northeast corner of Matsubara-cho. It is only two blocks north of the plot of bushes above. The tracks are the northern boundary and the crossing, the eastern.
So, we are looking mostly west, mid-Saturday afternoon, along the tracks of the Ome line toward the Haijima station. To the left is the Itoyokado (bird) store that we saw from a different angle some weeks ago. They are doing some remodeling and have blue tarps covering the scaffolding around the building.
None of the other buildings are recognizable from any of the previous snapshots.