A small event was held to plant linden saplings at Star Hills, a vacation home community offering whole-house rentals located in Tanakayama, Takyo, Izu.

Shiozawa took cuttings from a sapling grown from a seed of the Bodhi tree at the Mahabodhi Temple in India at Shiozawa’s studio in Kyoto, and transported the resulting seedlings from Kyoto by Shinkansen.

On July 4, as part of the pre-festival celebration, Dr. Mitsui, the owner of Star Hills, invited us to “Mameya,” a restaurant located in a quiet residential neighborhood in Shuzenji New Town.

This is a down-to-earth counter-style restaurant where the owner single-handedly prepares and serves about 15 home-style dishes. A cute cat is there to greet you when you arrive and see you off when you leave.

The next morning, July 5, was cloudy, but Star Hills was bathed in silence and deep greenery, with a magical landscape stretching out before us, revealing a special kind of beauty.

Starting at 10:30 a.m., Italian chef Chizuki is extremely busy with the preparations for the lunch party.

Even though today’s weather forecast called for a 70% or higher chance of rain, by the time the beautiful lunch dishes were served, the sun had started to peek through the clouds. It’s all thanks to the energy of Dr. Mitsui and the participants in the tree-planting festival.

Around 1:00 p.m., we opened plenty of champagne and wine, followed by a musical performance by Tetsuro and his wife and percussion by Shiozawa, and before long, everyone was getting pretty drunk at a rapid pace.

Today’s tree-planting ceremony began around 3:00 p.m.

It’s a wonderful spot with excellent sunlight and a superb setting. Once I finished planting the small shrubs, a refreshing breeze blew through.

That night, we got carried away by the drums, the flames, and the wine around the campfire.

The linden tree has grown this much in two weeks. I’m looking forward to seeing how much more it grows. (Photo sent by Dr. Mitsui)