It's green curtain time!

My interest in eco-friendly air conditioning hasn't abated one bit, and I've decided to follow this particular plant's progress this summer.

I noticed it on the Hongō campus of the University of Tokyo. The university really makes an effort to be a green campus, both literally and figuratively, and this year they've planted and neatly labelled several species in this specific flower bed near Kaitoku Gate.

This one, Aristolochia macrophylla, is native to the eastern United States. It's nicknamed Dutchman's Pipe because its flowers are shaped like a pipe. I'll record its progress and snap photos of its flowers as soon as they appear.

Shop shutters in Asakusa

Excellent idea

Spotted on a hair salon in Saitama

Red is for roofs

The list continues

A few days ago I wrote about a temple called Saikō-in that seems to have followed a list of "stuff that must be present at any temple that wants to cover all possible calamities", but wait! There's more! (I think the only important Japanese personage we're still missing is Hello Kitty.)

Ema with Daruma doll

Kitsune

Tanuki

Kappa

The mythical trio at the entrance to the temple

Kakuban, known posthumously as Kōgyō-Daishi, was a priest of the Shingon sect.

Sorry, motorists!

くらしのみち means "road of life", and it indicates a road where pedestrians and cyclists have right have way. I took these photos in Sendagi.

Sweets from yesteryear

Pure nostalgia! These old sweets were sold in Japan in the 1960s and 1970s. I bought them at a retro sweet shop in Saitama. How do they taste? Nice!

Cigarettes for kids! It's made of a sugary, chalky white substance. We used to have something similar in South Africa, if I can recall my long-gone murky past correctly.