Daley-sensei's Adventures in Himeji, Japan.

Yesterday I went to Osaka for fun and shenanigans! I made a day of it, and the weather was pretty warm (13C) so it was kind of nice. Still really really cold by Arizona standards, but nicer than what it's been lately, so I won't be complaining. My first stop, to give you an idea of my personal priorities, was the Osaka Pokemon Center.   It was on the 13th floor of the Daimaru Umeda Department Store, which happened to be right in Osaka Station; can't beat that for convenience! It was very crowded, but I loved it the moment I walked in and music from the games was broadcasting on the speakers. People of all ages were sitting around with their 3DS's playing Pokemon. It was awesome. Of course, all I did was buy stamps with English sayings on them to use in the classroom... so I guess I've grown up a little bit? Tempozan Mountain Next, I took a 30-minute bus to the Tempozan area of Osaka. It was right on the ocean! (Though no beach, sadly, just wharves.) T...

I'm starting to recognize the cats that hang out around the castle. I always have an absolute blast photographing them! Some of the cats are friendlier than others, but there's no doubt that they're all strays. Well-fed strays, but still most definitely strays. I'm starting to recognize these two as the very relaxed parents of several batches of kittens in the area. I can usually find them sunning in a few spots in the park outside the castle. They're friendly, but not desperately so; they'd much rather snuggle with each other, but they'll put up with a bit of petting with dignity. This guy started twining these figure-eights around my legs, and was very chatty. I'm not sure if he just likes attention, or he is very used to getting fed by people. Unfortunately for him, I didn't have any cat food on me, but he still spent a good 15 minutes crawling all over my boots. I've taken photos of this black kitten before...