Some of the things I write about in this blog may be similar all over Japan, and some are highly localized. This one is definitely related to not only living in Tokyo, but my particular area. I live in a residential area, but it's almost all concrete. My guess is this is because it's so close to Shinjuku, a major business, government, and shopping center. Our location is great because it makes commuting easier and it's not far from a major transportation hub. However, all of the land in the areas not too far from Tokyo is pretty valuable, and people aren't going to waste it with plots of grass. My exposure to grass is so limited that I was walking to a store about a year ago and smelled something which was vaguely familiar, but I couldn't quite place it at first. I realized that it was fresh-cut grass, and I hadn't smelled it for years.
I grew up in a place that was surrounded by grass and trees, and I miss this close regular contact with nature, so I won't miss the absence of grass around me.
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