Tokyo Skytree, Chanko-nabe, and Fuji-san...

Did a trip to Tokyo some time ago...

Decided to stay at a hotel near the Tokyo Skytree...

Just as I entered the hotel room, I was greeted by this scene...

Hmmm, nice...

Standing at 634 meters, it is the tallest structure in Japan at the moment...

For dinner that day, chose to have the 'chanko-nabe' which is a staple for sumo wrestlers...

The structure shot the next morning before sunrise...

And on the other side of the hotel is the green-roofed 'Ryogoku Kokugikan' (National Sumo Stadium)... 

In the far background on the right, beyond the high rise buildings, stands the snow-capped Mt. Fuji...

Japanese Four-lined Snake, or Japanese Striped Snake

Was inspecting my garden one day when I saw this snake creeping out...
It moved very slowly...
So slow that I had more than enough time to go inside the house to get my camera...

The Japanese Four-lined Ratsnake, or Japanese Striped Snake (shimahebi) is native to Japan and is non-poisonous. 
It supposedly feeds on frogs, lizards, insects, rodents, and even small birds and their eggs.
This one was a little over one meter...
Looking at its slightly bulging stomach area, I imagined it must have swallowed a mole as we do have moles frequently digging in our garden...

That afternoon, my missus saw a Japanese black kite perched on one of our wood shacks, clearly eating a snake, she said...
And I stumbled upon this half-eaten specimen near that same spot the next morning...

First time for me to see a happening in our garden....

Chicken coop to cold frame using recycled wood...

Have been dreaming about keeping chickens... 

For the last few weeks, was busy trying to hammer out a mini-mini chicken coop...

The re-cycled wood is sourced from the stone masons in the neighborhood...

This picture is a projection of the finished product...

There are two main, detachable components to it...

The bottom part is for the chickens to roam about in the day time...

The top component is for them to sleep at night...

I have yet to decide where to put the egg nest...

This was photographed mid-way through the construction...

My missus came by and commented, 'Ooh, those large gaps, the snakes will come in for the eggs'...

And being the 'clumsy carpenter' that I am... I scratched my head followed by two slaps on my forehead... thinking about how to close those gaps...

Took me a few more weeks to build, un-build, and re-build again...

This is supposed to be the end product... and I am quite sure that no wild animals (ferret, raccoon), bird of prey (Japanese kite) or snake can penetrate this cage... 

In the meantime, through my contacts with the Lions Club, the boss of a large chicken egg farm has agreed to offer us some chickens...

We ask for only two... yes, only two, for a start...

And I could not believe that he would take the trouble to come all the way to check out our environment... 

Apparently, Japan is serious on the prevention of the bird flu... and the boss of the chicken egg company wanted to make sure that there is no risk on my part with regards to the possibility of 'starting' or helping to spread the bird flu...

In other words, no free range chicken farming... too risky as the chickens will come into contact with the wild birds large and small...

He came one weekend, and was satisfied with the chicken coop or cage that I made...

'Your chickens will lay eggs everyday, because the environment is very good'...

I cheered silently... heeeyyyaaaahhh...

He suggested that we should get the 'Momiji' breed, which is developed by the Japanese farmers...

'Momiji' simply means 'maple', and is named so to reflect the reddish-orange feathers of the chicken...  

The chicks are still small now and he welcome us to visit his chicken egg farm around May...

May is still quite a long time from now..

So, why not convert the top part of the chicken coop into a cold frame to start some vegetable seeds for spring planting?

I did just that and immediately sowed over thirty types of vegetable seeds...

Now, I am thinking to make a larger 'hotel room' (the top component) for the birds to sleep...

And I have a few weeks to do that...