Maybe not Culture- but what plant has been blooming the past week that smells so wonderful?  It's strongest at night, is it a night jasmine?  I've noticed it in the middle of Tokyo, in Yoko, on base, my neighborhood... and it smells so great.  I want to plant a garden full of it!

Any idea what it is?

My wife was wondering the same thing.

It does smell wonderful......I notice it every day that I walk to the train station.

I guess the smell come from this flower, 
Gin-moku-sei  (osmanthus fragrans)




if japanese smells of this flower, they  feel "Autamn has come "

this flower is used as aroma therapy

its seedling is sold at gardening store 

Thank you Takabell! It's the most delicious smelling flower in the world! I was starting to think I was crazy though, the smell is very powerful to me, but I ask friends if they smell and they all say "I don't smell anything". I thought I was imagining it.

Takabell, you are an endless source of information! I enjoy reading your posts.

Thank you, we've been wondering the same thing. My friend I smelled it the other day and then again today. Mystery solved.

Kinmokusei smells like Ginmokusei. The difference of them are color. Kinmokusei produces small yellow flowers while Ginmokusei's flowers are in white. Both are very common in Japan.

Both are group of "Mokusei" plants. Kin means gold and Gin means silver so they may came after their flower colors (yellow and white.)

Even they smell very nice, until mid 1990, the smell is widely used to air fresheners for "rest rooms", so some Japanese people remind toilets from its smell.

I took a little trip down Wikipedia lane, if anyone's interested.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmanthus_fragrans

Looks like I'll have a hard time growing them back in Northern VA with the frosts =(

I took pic at Kaizoji  temple in Kamakura

the temple was  filled with the flower's fallen petals 

Zen master Dogen who lived in Kamakura era (1200~ 1253)
 
his quote 

"A flower falls, even though we love it; and a weed grows, even though we do not love it. "

he described Man's mind by flower 

smelled a little tonight . feel  Autamn

My favorite smell ever. The first time we lived here I arrived in October, and these flowers were blooming everywhere in my neighborhood. We arrived back to Yokosuka last month, and I was so happy tonight when I got out of my car to catch the scent of these flowers in the air!