In June, I took a short hike in the Botanical Gardens of the Institute for Nature Study in Minato City, Tokyo. This place was beautiful! There were 300+ year old trees, marshes, oak, beech, palm, and pine forests. There were also many types of flowers, mushrooms, butterflies, moths, lizards, and birds.

It was a dark, cloudy day with regular rain showers. The rainy season had just begun two days earlier, so the forest was just beginning to come alive. I was one month too early for the start of the colorful mushroom season which peaks in the fall season. Here are some of the photos of mushrooms, flowers and insects that I saw during my hike.