Nature appreciation
As a young man, I didn’t appreciate Nature very much. I suppose that’s typical of young people in general, and boys in particular. Or, perhaps it was just me. Maybe I’m getting sentimental with age. These days, I love going for walks, enjoying the trees and flowers, the parks and as much countryside and fresh air as I can get, and taking lots of pictures. Indeed, I have Facebook albums of thousands and thousands of photographs dedicated to Flowers, and Trees, and albums of pictures dedicated to individual, well-known parks. I stop and smell the roses - or, I look at them, at least. I visit the large and famous Shinjuku National Garden so much that I’m thinking of buying a one-year pass next year. Honestly, I’ve visited that park so many times in recent years that it would be cheaper to buy the pass rather than individual tickets for each visit. Meiji Shrine Gardens, Sarue Onishi Park, in Koto Ward, Shinjuku Central Park, Hibiya Park, the Imperial Palace East Gardens and North Garden. In my own neighborhood, the Hongo Fureai Park, the Sanshi no mori Park, and the Omiya Hachimangu Shrine and its adjacent Wadabori Park. My eyes are attracted to color, light and shadow, perspective and texture.
In Japan, photography is a common hobby among retired men. I see them in the parks sometimes, a line of men waiting patiently for a perfect shot of a duck, or a tree, or a flower. And, these men are using photography equipment that (probably) costs more than my annual income. They’re quite serious about it. It's funny. Japanese are very serious about flowers.