Before I moved to Japan, I lived in a house with a garden. In Tokyo, I’ve lived in an urban apartment. No garden. No access to the outdoors. Then in July, I moved to a second Tokyo apartment. Still no garden. And right off my bedroom, the ugliest balcony in the world. See for yourself. Pretty hideous, right?

I decided what that balcony needed was a Japanese garden. And what I needed was a Japanese gardener. Fortunately, I knew one because I’d interviewed him a few years ago for this column in The Japan Times. Shimizu Takayuki 清水隆行, a licensed landscape architect and gardener, came to look at my ugly balcony. He said he could help.

And here is the result, installed last week:

And a closer view:

Needless to say, I’m thrilled. This is yet another Adventure in Columning — when work on my column leads me in new and exciting directions. Shimizu-san’s company is called Midori no Machi Kōbō 緑のまち工房.