blue

blue
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

Asiatic Dayflower is called 露草 (つゆくさ, tsu yu ku sa) in Japanese. One of the most common summer weed in Tokyo (and other cities in Japan).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commelina

pink

pink
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

槿 (むくげ, mu ku ge), Hibiscus syriacus
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibiscus_syriacus

kitties and a bike

kitties and a bike
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

kitties

kitties
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

A pair of kitties in my neighbourhood. I didn't see them this week when it was extraordinary hot. Glad that they've come out, after the insane heat has gone!

"We are on holiday"

"We are on holiday"
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

Seen at a store.
* Click on the picture and see notes for language tips.

すだれと朝顔

すだれと朝顔
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

すだれ is barred lattice of bamboo, according to Eijiro dictionary. It blocks sunshine and let the wind through. We hung it outside of the window, not inside, just during summer. The owner of this house have planted some morning glory too, so it's double glaze for summer.

Wall, window, pipe and morning grory

Wall, window, pipe and morning grory
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

What's the story?

What's the story?
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

Morning glory is very often seen in Japan in summer. When I was six or seven years old, my school gave us the seed for each of us to plant at our houses, in order to see how the plant grows. It's part of elementary scientific education.

Morning glory is called 朝顔 ("asa gao") in Japan, which literally means "morning face". Two or three centuries ago, it was like tulips in Europe -- everybody was so keen on the plant and there was a huge craze.

The owner of this house in this picture seems to be keeping a very traditional (and reasonable) way. If you plant some morning glory and let it grow on the wall, the leaves will block sunshine and make the house cooler.

Dried flower on the street

Dried flower on the street
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

Close-up shot of this fence.

Dried out

Dried out
Originally uploaded by nofrills.

As far as Tokyo concerned, the heat wave that boiled Kanto (Tokyo area) and the west has gone -- Chubu (Nagoya area) and Kinki (Osaka area) are still boiling, I suppose, but for Tokyo it's now like 30 degrees (and very very humid) at noon: that is, it's just as hot as usual. (Yesterday it was again like 37 degrees.) The press says there have been 17 or 20 deaths because of the heat. Most of the victims are over 65, but some are as young as 15.

This picture was taken around 08.00, 18th August 2007. This is on my way to the station, and I should have seen this yesterday, but I didn't because I was wearing sunglasses and I could not look up because of the strong sunshine -- it felt too dangerous. Why this plant is dead and dried, I am not sure, but it's possible the heat wave this week killed it.

The sky is totally covered with cloud -- white rather than grey. I usually don't especially like this sky, but today, I am very happy to see this.