Daley-sensei's Adventures in Himeji, Japan.

Yeah yeah... I've been to the castle a lot. But this was the first time I was able to see it entirely finished with its renovations. Now all visitors can go inside the castle and climb to the very top (on the super-steep traditional wooden stairs of doom, no less. Watch your head if you're taller than 5')! Actually though, I had some friends from Phoenix visiting, so it gave me an excuse to properly go inside the grounds, which are fully operational as of the last couple weeks. So I did get to see the castle in ways that I haven't been able to for the last (almost) two years. It was a beautiful sunny day, and since it was a Tuesday the crowds weren't too terrible. But honestly, since the renovations have finished the sheer number of tour buses and groups descending onto the castle has been downright overwhelming. Himeji has definitely done a good job of advertising the reopening around the world. I guess I'm just not used to so many people being around, sin

These photos are from a couple of weeks ago, when I had a spare Monday off. It just took me until today to have the internet capabilities to share them! (I know I complain a lot, but seriously, I go through unreliable phases so often these days.) It's not often that I've been to the Koko-en on such a beautiful day, only to find it empty. There were maybe three other people in the entire garden when I went! The trick is to get there early in the morning, before the buses of tourists have a chance to start arriving. I took advantage of the opportunity to get some more panorama-style shots of the whole garden. The koi fish were particularly active that morning. I must have just missed feeding time! One of the stone paths you can use to cross the ponds in the garden.  A stone bridge over the main koi pond, without any guardrails. Fun times.  It was May, but for some reason there were a handful of trees in full autumn colors. No complaints from m