pine needles

Kyu-Shiba-rikyu Gardens, Tokyo, Japan
Canon EOS 50D, 24-105mm f/4L IS @40mm, 1/100 sec, f/5, ISO100

The Japanese people take their trees pretty seriously. After all, they have been practising the art of bonsai for more than a thousand years. I noticed similar levels of dedication with the pine trees in the gardens that I visited while in Tokyo earlier this year.

pine tree

Kyu-Shiba-rikyu Gardens, Tokyo, Japan
Canon EOS 50D, 24-105mm f/4L IS @97mm, 1/200 sec, f/5, ISO100

When I visited the Hama-Rikyu Gardens, some gardeners were busy pruning the trees. The photo below clearly shows the effect of the pruning, with the top half of the tree already pruned, and the lower half yet to be pruned. The foliage is significantly thinned out, with the gardeners removing most of it, along with any branches that are deemed to be out of place.

pruning

Hama-rikyu Gardens, Tokyo, Japan
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @19mm, 1/160 sec, f/7.1, ISO100