Marui Nakano opens tomorrow!

Marui Nakano is re-opening in its new building tomorrow, January 28. I admit I am pretty excited for this burst of renewal on the south side of the JR Nakano station.

They are advertising a Tokyo Hands. I hope they’ll also have Le Petit Mec, their great French bakery, or the Italian gelato store (both at Marui’s Shinjuku San Chome store). Will there be a food court in the basement?

I took this photo a few weeks ago, and marveled at the pride of the construction workers who line up their super-clean equipment in front of Nakano’s only department store.

Balcony garden re-made

Our south-facing balcony continues to be warm and full of sun. I’ve renovated the garden to include a small plant stand by the living room window and several boxes hanging on the railing. The eleven flower pots that weren’t sold are the stars of the garden.

Some of my new plants include winter pansies and kale, grown on top of spring tulip bulbs. Also, a rose from our friend K. And a cool moss-ball, bonsai pine tree from I.