Kyoto and Himeji in February

I know, I know, I'm really late on updating this. For over the last month, my internet has been sporadic, and most days I was happy if it took less than 2-3 minutes to attach a .pdf to an email. For the first time, I was sitting around wanting to update my blog, but I didn't have the capability to do so!

However, this week my connection seems to have returned to normal, so I can start catching up on uploading all of my photographs! I have been pretty busy this March, though I did explore a bit in February, too.

February was mostly cold and grey, but I made one last trip to the Kobo-san market in Kyoto, and let myself go crazy and buy all of the kimonos that caught my eye! I finished the day with two silk kimonos (1,000 yen each) and three very high-quality obis. No idea where I'll put my collection when I return to Arizona come August, but I'll figure something out, I'm sure...

The plum blossoms were just starting to bloom at the end of February, so I took some photographs of them at Toji Temple. I also briefly visited the Koko-en here in Himeji to see the plums. They were very fragrant, and came in so many colors! I think I may like them more than cherry blossoms...

Look at this plum blossom from Kyoto! It's such a lovely pink, isn't it?

This bird was snacking on the bees that were snacking amid the blossoms. Here, it was taking a break on a tree that hadn't quite bloomed yet.

It was a beautiful blue day in Kyoto! (Perfect for shopping at the market!)

This waterfall in the Koko-en still looked lovely even though the maple trees were bare.

This bee was too busy eating to care that I was taking its photograph.

Plum blossoms can be a deep, vibrant red, too. Who knew?

You can see the outer-castle wall over the garden.

And finally, Himeji Castle was looking great, and nearly all the scaffolding was off!

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Daley-sensei's Adventures in Himeji, Japan.

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