The first time I saw an Urban farm was in Tokyo. I was visiting my friend there and across the street, in what would have been just an empty lot in Canada, was little farm plot.

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There are thousands of them throughout Tokyo… they are immaculately tended and, according to my friend, regarded as nearly sacred.

On Treehugger.com today, I saw an article about an Underground “grow-op” facility. Except instead of marijuana, they were growing rice, fruits and vegetables.

The space is actually a former bank vault, of all things… and it’s in the heart of Tokyos Otemachi business district.

It’s certainly a fascinating demonstration of “getting back to our roots”. This is something the Japanese, even through all their tech driven insanity (anyone who’s seen Akihabara knows what I’m talking about), value greatly. They understand the need to preserve and nurture nature when it is threatened by society.

As population densities grow ever larger in the West, hopefully we’ll start to see this sort green thinking in the hearts of our own metropolises.

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