Autumn 2014: Himeji Castle and Nagoyama (again and again!)

I like making friends with the cats at Nagoyama. Seriously, they're the friendliest bunch of cats I've found in Himeji so far. The castle cats are cute, but most of them aren't too friendly unless you're one of their regular feeders. But the Nagoyama cats, now those are some affectionate kitties! Not all of them, but many are quite starved for attention even if you don't come bearing food offerings.

I took a lot of photos of this very photogenic kitty. He liked to talk while I photographed, and filled me in on what was probably a lifetime of cat gossip. Then he followed my bike around everywhere I went, which made for some tricky maneuvering. The company was nice, though!

The sun was starting to set, so I didn't have good light for very long. But the statues in the Nagoyama garden were looking great!

I first spotted the cat hiding in the tall grass. He didn't come out at first.

I think he enjoyed being photographed, because he liked striking poses like this long enough for me to get a good shot.

The sun was shining down on this statue at just the right angle!

The maple trees are at their peak right now, and I'm enjoying it immensely.

Another cat, but he was rather photo shy. He looked great sitting among the gravestones, though.

Himeji Castle

I briefly took some photographs of Himeji Castle while I was riding my bike to the train station (heading to Kyoto, see next blog post!). I admired a lovely crow perching in a maple tree, but he wasn't keen on having his photo taken. The castle it looking great, though! It's down to a single crane at ground level, and most of the scaffolding is gone now.

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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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