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.

This cat really wanted his rump photographed. Can you see him?

This kitten kept running off every time I got close; I think it became a game for him. He briefly stopped to let me get one quick photo of him, though.

This statue was serenely sitting under a tree.

I loved the effect of the fallen flowers in this rain gutter, they looked beautiful!

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Autumn Leaves and Castle Cats

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Yesterday, February 11th, was "Foundation Day" in Japan, which meant that there wasn't school that day. A few of us Phoenician ALT's got together and split money to rent a car, and we drove out to Asago to see the Takeda Castle Ruins . When we left Himeji at 6:30am, it was just starting to snow; by the time we had driven north to Asago, the snow was falling much more heavily, with easily several inches sticking to the ground. We could see the Takeda Castle at the top of the mountain, and I could have sworn I could see what looked to be the specks of people walking along it, but due to the snow the route was closed. However, we did climb up as far as we could go, and saw a few shrines and a temple along the way! The snow was well worth it, though none of us were overly prepared for it, considering the forecast had said it would be sunny. We didn't stay in Asago long, and ended up driving to Kobe to go shopping at the Costco. Japanese Costco's aren't

Daley-sensei's Adventures in Himeji, Japan.

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