Cherry Blossom Season at Himeji Koko-en!

I happened to be going by the Koko-en when the sun came out, and I couldn't resist the temptation to take photos of the gardens! There were so many kinds of flowers I had never seen before; I have since discovered that I can take--literally--hundreds of photos of flowers and still not get bored of them. Perhaps I've spent too long living in a desert, but I really like to admire flowers!

The garden is very relaxing to visit. I love how the Japanese design and landscape everything so that everything is not only one with nature, but also the way it emphasizes the beauty of nature at the same time.

A heron in the moat near the entrance to the Koko-en. He didn't seem to mind too much that I was taking photos of him.

I think this is the best photo I've ever taken. What do you think? I might tweak it a bit in Photoshop at some point, but I don't think it needs much touching up. The branches are from a Weeping Cherry Tree, which are, in my biased opinion towards all "weeping" trees, the most beautiful kind of cherry tree!

These flowers look kind of like pieces of popcorn. They're very interesting!

These giant white flowers (Magnolias, possibly?) are not as common as the cherry trees, but I've been seeing them around in many yards here in Himeji. They're very scented!

Although, these little teeny white flowers are even more strongly scented than the big ones. They're planted a lot of places too, which makes running into them a pleasant surprise for my nose!

A closeup of the small white flowers growing on the bushes. They're really quite lovely!

I inadvertently caught two koi fish in a yin-yang pose in this photo. Can you see them?

I loved this lone white flower blooming amid the bright purple flowers.

Finally, the view from the Starbucks in Piole of downtown Himeji. It's under a lot of renovation right now; they're redoing the street and building more modern buildings. It will be cool to see this place when it's all finished!

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Shinzaike Honcho Festival, Friendship Festival, and the Countryside!

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I spent all day on the 22nd in Kyoto. I went to so many places that I cannot honestly remember the names of them all. I will try my best to be accurate, but it was pretty overwhelming. I also was able to en joy a performance by a Maiko , or apprentice Geisha. She was very beautiful! The weather was great, in fact is got pretty toasty in the afternoon. The crowds, though, were a bit obnoxious. I've come to expect big crowds in Kyoto, but it still comes as an unpleasant surprise every time I visit. Be warned, I took a lot of photographs! Fushimi Inari Shrine Our first stop was the Fushimi Inari Shrine . This was actually many shrines, all along a gorgeous mountain trail that I did not have the time to enjoy fully (perhaps again, during a non-peak tourist season). Inari is the Shinto god of rice, and the messenger for this spirit is the fox. Thus, there were foxes everywhere, as well as the red coloring that goes with this god. You will see many Inari shrines throughout Japa...

Daley-sensei's Adventures in Himeji, Japan.

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