I can't believe that it is late May already, as I feel as though I just celebrated the New Year a short while ago. It's no use making a fuss! Stop and smell the roses!
It is rose season in Tokyo. We can see the beautiful blossoms here and there. They are fully blown in public parks, private gardens, on exterior walls of private houses and unexpectedly, along the railway tracks. Arakawa Ward of Tokyo Metropolis has been working on planting roses along the track of the Toei Arakawa Line. Nowadays, local volunteer groups such as Arakawa Rose Association also join to maintain the roses along the track.
When I visited the Arakawa Line with my family last week, I saw many rose lovers admiring the blossoms. One of the reputable spots is Minowabashi Terminal. We could see fully blown red, pink, yellow and white colored roses. I think that the dark pink colored ones are named Charles de Gaulle, who was the President of France.
In the meantime, a streetcar in the photo is the Toei 7000 series. It is the Toei's longest-serving active model launched in 1954. A total of 93 units have been manufactured so far by Alna Koki and 19 units are still operated on the Arakawa Line. They have cream colored bodies with green colored stripes in general, but unit number 7001 and 7022 have so-called retro color bodies, which are dark yellow background colored with a red (7001) or a blue (7022) stripe.
http://www.kotsu.metro.tokyo.jp/fan/gallery/toden.html