Finding a Patch of Nature in the Urban Sprawl

The greater Tokyo urban area is a massive concrete slab, a heat island that offers only the occasional pocket of natural beauty.

One of the best places to find relatively undisturbed nature is along the Tama River, which divides Tokyo proper from Kawasaki. I won these photos by riding my bike a little farther than normal along the north side of the river.

There are a number of factors keeping this land undisturbed:

• The area is a flood plain so there's no development there.
• No parking and narrow roads prevent the casual visitor from accessing it.
• Homeless villages are common along the banks of the rivers. They are really special places, and I would love to meet some people there to talk about their experience because homelessness in Japan is unique from other countries for a variety of reasons.

I personally think, with the exception of flooding, the homeless have some of the best real estate in the city. Egrets, cormorants and other water birds are their companions and the cooler breezes along the river are truly something to enjoy.