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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Cherry Blossom Season at Nagoyama Temple!

I haven't been to Nagoyama Temple in awhile, but today was a beautiful sunny day, and since it's about 10 minutes away by bicycle, I couldn't resist! Nagoyama is absolutely stunning during cherry blossom season! I know everyone crowds into Himeji Castle for cherry blossom viewing, but I definitely think Nagoyama's cherry trees are of comparable beauty; perhaps some might find the idea of flower viewing in a cemetery depressing, but wow, this is probably the most beautiful cemetery I have ever seen! Also, there were cats everywhere. Would they be considered temple cats or graveyard cats? Can you spot Himeji Castle (in its scaffolding)? The cemetery extends for quite a ways around the main temple, and there were cherry trees everywhere! A small garden nestled between the hills of graves. You can see the city stretching out behind it! I love how, at certain angles, the main temple seems to float above a sea of cherry trees. ...

Shinzaike Honcho Festival, Friendship Festival, and the Countryside!

Lots of photos and a few videos incoming! The Shinzaike Honcho Festival was the local neighborhood festival. The shrine was just down the street from Shirasagi, and all of us ALT's walked to it. It was a lot of fun! Three other neighborhoods were also having their festivals at the same time, which meant that we ran into their portable shrines along the way now and then. Everything culminated at the park on top of the hill next to Shirasagi, with performances by the kids and some portable shrine "dancing." The portable shrine was alternately carried and pushed/pulled along the route we took, which circled through most of the area around the Shinzaike Honcho main street. We marched in lines behind the portable shrine, chanting "Yo Ya Sa" along the way (the equivalent of "heave ho!"). The entrance to the shrine. (^ Some detailed photos of the portable shrine. ^) (A lion dance performance at the start of the festival.) ...

Foggy Day on Yoshino Mountain!

Yoshino Mountain is located in Nara Prefecture, and it is often considered one of the best places in Japan to see cherry blossoms. It takes about three hours and multiple train connections to get there from Himeji, which means that if you leave early enough, it's day-trip doable. I went there last weekend, on the 11th of April. The temperature was warm, but the weather alternated between foggy and cloudy. The trails were quite muddy due to the rainy days all of the week prior, but the views were still stunning! The trees were in various stages of losing their blossoms, so with each gust of wind petals were knocked off and blown about, creating a snowy impression. I wish I could have seen it on a sunny day, with the blossoms at their peak! I did my best to photograph the beautiful cherry-covered slopes during my hike, but the fog mutes the bright colors of the blossoms. New cherry leaves grow in with an orange-red color, which combined with the lingering pink and white blossoms c...

Daley-sensei's Adventures in Himeji, Japan.

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