Tokyo may well be a bustling megacity of umpteen millions, but away from more central areas, it’s amazing how common it is to find concrete and crops in close proximity.
Photographs from a small group of islands
Tokyo may well be a bustling megacity of umpteen millions, but away from more central areas, it’s amazing how common it is to find concrete and crops in close proximity.
Denton says
A lot greener than I expected! I was expecting rice too! 🙂
Lee says
There are plenty of rice fields in and around the city. Or at least it’s western regions. Parts out west are incredibly green too.
cdilla says
It is an incongruous sight, and not one you see in the UK much, if at all.
There are some great contrasts in your photograph with the lush carpet of green backed by the decrepit tan building and the bright blue and white sky. A peaceful scene.
I’ve heard that the veg grown in urban Tokyo alone could feed well over half a million people. And that such farms are more productive than rural ones. The green space has many benefits to urbanites besides the fresh veg and I think they can be used for disaster management open spaces.
Any unused land in the UK gets slapped with a car park or new estate of Bauhausian shoeboxes. Anything remote enough to get overlooked mysteriously gets sown with “birdseed”. Well, maybe that’s not as prevalent as all that.
Lee says
Yes, the mixture of urban and farmland have always fascinated me here. Tends to be either one or the other back in the UK.
There’s definitely a lot grown. A real variety of stuff too. The supermarkets near us now stock a good amount of veggies grown locally. The area and often a photo of the farmer is also often given. A really good idea — for all involved. Makes so much more sense than shipping it in from elsewhere in Japan, or from another country.
Bernadette Loftus says
This reminds me of Postcards from the Future, especially of Parliament Square Paddy Fields. Although your picture is a lot more optimistic.
http://www.london-futures.com/postcard_images/
Lee says
Interesting. Cheers for the link. Hadn’t even thought of it like that. Those images have made me see the photo differently. Certainly very differently than when I took it.
Scott says
Thanks for the link
Squidpuppy says
Good to see this kind of thing still goes on. Back in the ’60s and early 70’s when I was growing up in Tokyo, there was still quite a lot of it – especially in outlying wards and cities like Kokubunji, Kunitachi, And Chofu – all places my family lived at one time, or another. Not so much in more urbanized areas like Bunkyo-ku, Kichijoji, or along the Inokashira line, where we also lived. Over time though, even in outlier areas, rice paddies gradually vanished, and were replaced by sweet potato, carrots, cabbage, those kinds of crops – and hot houses; lots of hot houses. I think this photo shows sweet potatoes. I can’t tell what the tall stuff is in the background, maybe daikon?
Where was this, by the way?
Lee says
Head out towards Hachioji, and there are still a good number of rice fields to be seen. You’ll be pleased to know that in and around Kokubunji there are also still plenty of little farms. A lot of the locally grown veg in the supermarket near us comes from Kokubunji.
The farmer said it was edamame. Or at least the stuff she’s spraying is. Not sure about the crop in the background.
Oh, and it was around the border with Saitama. Part of a long, meandering walk. Couldn’t tell you where exactly, but in that region. Very similar looking to areas in the far west of Tokyo.
Squidpuppy says
Great to hear! In my opinion it’s good to retain that kind of land use in urban areas for all kinds of reasons. I remember when Orange County, California was still mostly orange groves. Now it’s housing tracts and malls. Sigh.
Of course edamame! That would be a great fast growth, fast selling crop. The demand for it has to be ridiculous in Tokyo. It wasn’t a thing at all back in my day; never saw it served like it is now. Sunomono, kinpira, kaki-pi, or shiokara, that was it.
Lee says
That’s fascinating. I’d always assumed edamame was always a thing. Makes sense of course, as tastes/trends etc are always changing. But still a genuine surprise.
Like you say though, the demand must be absolutely massive. Long may that demand continue too. Always a disappoint when a place doesn’t have it on the menu.
d.minnis says
From what I can see of the taller plants in the background, they look like taro.
Lee says
I shall take your word on that. Not my strongest subject. I only know the crop in the foreground is edamame because I asked the farmer.