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Foreign trees

peter

By peter

7 comments


I arrived in Japan just over a week ago and want to share a little of my experience here. There are many things that go to making Japan an unusual and wonderful place to visit, and I’m sure you’ll be aware of the major differences. However, for me it is the small things that make me realise how different it is, the things that I’m not prepared for; surprisingly I’ve found that trees are one of those things.

Framed gate
Driving through the very narrow streets of Osaka, Japan’s second city, I’ve found that most gardens are moderately walled and not easy to see. However, many of them have exotically shaped trees rising above the walls, offering a glimpse of the garden inside. The houses in one particular area almost all had impressively manicured trees and I had time to walk around and capture a few of them.

Tweezered precision?
Often they were trained in such a way that they framed the gateway to the residence while others remained more hidden, stimulating intrigue about what else lay behind the wall. These trees are very expensive to maintain, most requiring the attention of a professional. I was astounded to hear that tweezers (presumably large ones) are sometimes used in the process! I love the attention to detail and the precision of these trees; they offer a contrast to the natural beauty of the mountain cherry blossom – more of which later…

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Comments

 

Awsome pictures! It seems like the whole country is a huge botanical garden! Tweezers workers in Japan must be earning a fortune, just like English plumbers... -:)

12 Apr, 2007

 

Great photos Peter! Japan is definitely on my list of places to visit in the future. :)

17 Apr, 2007

 

wonderful photos peter, what a time you must have had to see all those plants and places. caro.

9 May, 2007

 

Thanks for the wonderful tour of plants and places in Japan.
I thought you did a great job taking the pictures.

3 Aug, 2008

 

I hadn't realised that these manicured trees were so plentiful inside the walled areas of city homes.

I thought the trees were mostly grown in special Japanese gardens - places of interest to visit.

Quite an insight. Thanks, Peter.

5 Sep, 2008

 

Thanks :o) It's surprising how common the trees are. I think that because Japanese gardens tend to be very small, people pay a lot more attention to what they have.

9 Sep, 2008

 

lovely photos and wonderfull trees.

17 Sep, 2011

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