If Violetta was not ill; Camellias in Olympics/Paralympics Village for Tokyo 2020 Games

Olympics/Paralympics Village for Tokyo 2020 Games stands on one of the oldest reclaimed lands in Tokyo Bay. The area is called “Harumi 晴海” which means “the place where we can observe sea under always clear sky.” The construction of the land was completed in 1931. 90 years later, we’ll have the Olympics/Paralympics Village on it. So, the soil beneath the Village is not natural, but brought from the other places. Moreover, as Harumi is the area once it was sea, especially garden section has sandy composition stabilized by plant and grasses artificially introduced there … Well, it’s inevitable when we try to create land from not-so-shallow bay. Do you know even today the deepest point of Tokyo Bay is 700m?

The skyscrapers in Harumi where
 half of Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee resides.

The vegetation in the Village is all planted recently by the developers. The trees are still thin. I’m sure the landscapers will take care of the young garden plants during the Games meticulously, staking Japan’s international reputation on the line. Yet among those very new trees and shrubs, it seems to me, one kind is already showing their resilience. They are camellia.

From the Village,
we can observe the entire Toyosu Market,
 the central wholesale market of Tokyo.

Common camellia, Camellia japonica, is Japanese endemic species, spreading along the coast of Japanese archipelago from Okinawa to Hokkaido. They do not care much about the soil structure, as long as the place is not so cold. Yeah, they prefer not being under direct sun, but the plant is anyway capable to survive in sunny pedestrian area. The camellias in the Village are young. They are transplanted from some professional nurseries. Yet, they have many, very large and shiny fruits dangling and smiling. Strong babies. I guess they will be established trees in 10 years’ time, whatever COVID-19 would do to the Tokyo 2020 Games. They might be a hidden symbol tree of this strange Olympics/Paralympics …

Hmmmmm. Large fruits!

I’ve found out there are several Japanese forest-related elements for Tokyo 2020 Games. I try to report them to you during the Games. Please stay tuned!