Takasho Garden & Exterior Fair 2017

I got the opportunity to visit this fair of one of Japan’s biggest suppliers for garden and exterior “stuff”.

On Friday July 28 I just stopped at the office for a short time to prepare some work and then set off for Daimon, where I wanted to change to the Tokyo Monorail to get to the Ryūtsū Center.
I was excited! Not only because of the fair, but also because I haven’t used the Monorail until then, although I am living in Tokyo for already quite some years.
The reason is: the Tokyo Monorail is expensive! And the only time I had a reason to use it, was to go to Haneda Airport. However, there are cheaper options to go there, so no chance for the Monorail until now!

Although I have seen the rails of the Monorail before, I was surprised how high above the streets it was going. Don’t sit by the window when you are afraid of heights!
But I especially enjoyed when the route lead us above the bay of Tokyo (kind of…).

When I left the Monorail next to a lot of men in business suits, I felt everybodys stares on me.
“Why is that foreign woman getting off in a place like this?”

Exactly! Normally, I am the only foreigner at fairs like this!
Only the Garden Expo is frequently visited by foreigners, but these small fairs? No, normally I feel like an exotic animal. But that’s also the reason why all the salesmen are immediately recognize me as staff of our company.

It was only about five minutes after I entered that the salesman, who is doing the estimates and ordering for our company, found me and said hello.

I was also surprised to find one employee of Takasho, who was fluent in English.
He used to live in Singapore, came back to Japan to work for Takasho in Okayama, but was relocated to the Tohoku area to open a store there and help with the reconstruction in the Tsunami area. Or lets say it clear: Takasho saw potential in the area. A lot was destroyed, a lot has to be build anew. The perfect chance to get into the market.
Win-win for both sides, the seller and the customers I would say!
Another salesman also approached me in English, but was happy when he found out, that I can understand Japanese.
He was introducing new material.
One of those were flexible clay tiles.
Later I was very surprised to find the maker of these..

This time I actually wasn’t the only foreigner.
I saw a large group from China, met two Australians and saw one more man from Europe or America, I guess.
One of the Australians is the maker of the clay tiles!

I had a very nice chat with him. He has a good story to share, how he changed his profession from a professional landscaper to a landscape part maker, who’s mission is to produce exactly those things landscapers are longing for.

He is also selling a simple edging system via Takasho now.

Ok, but now let me show you what I was able to discover!

The deck light I chose for a design.

Japanese room design example.

Pre-build bamboo fence.

Original design panel.

Can you imagine this in your garden?

I love these border stones!

Of course, Takasho was not only presenting their products in a simple way, but also build a lot of nice example designs.
I would actually love to do that work! The people who are doing that must have a great time to choose from all the products and build terraces and entrances to present them to the people and make them want exactly these things!

Because I am also using products of Takasho in my designs, I was interested in looking at them from a short distance, actually feel them and see if they are matching with the pictures in the catalogue or not.
This year I did a rooftop design and chose a deck light from Takasho and could see it now before the design was actually transformed into a real thing.
I think the deck light would really fit into my design!
But I also found materials I wouldn’t want to use or I could only use with limitations.
Takasho has nice aluminium panels I really like and would love to use.
However, the edges are a little bit sharp and I wouldn’t use it in a home with small children now that I have seen them.

I would say, for me the visit was a full success! Also because I found books I LOVE! One will become my bible, but I will introduce that one in a seperate blog post!

Anika

With twelve years of professional landscaping experience under her belt, Anika Ogusu is your perfect guide to the world of Japanese gardens. Her love of nature began early, in the woods near her childhood home and the garden of her grandmother’s house. During her teenage years she developed a strong interest in Japanese culture, and after university she decided to combine her love of Japan and gardens into a profession. Anika started her career as chief gardener in charge of the perennial valley at the Botanical Garden in Hamburg, Germany, then moved to Tokyo in pursuit of her dream. For two years she apprenticed under local landscape designers and learned the art of Japanese garden design, construction and maintenance. Now, in partnership with Real Japanese Gardens (www.japanesegardens.jp), her wish is to spread the magic of Japanese gardens to the rest of the world. Her in-depth guide books on gardens throughout Japan are available in eBook format or paperback. In her free time, Anika enjoys exploring her adopted country (especially green moss gardens), and soaking up nature and any details that interest her.

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