Skip to main content

Autumn 2014: Himeji Castle and Koko-en


I couldn't resist visiting the Koko-en again! The many different kinds of trees start changing into their autumn colors at different times, so the garden is always different this time of year! It was a sunny day when I stopped by the Koko-en, but a foggy one when I visited Himeji Castle. I still got a few decent photographs, though!

Not so much to say this time, so I'll just let the photos do the talking.

Himeji Castle


A view of the park outside one of the outer moats. 



I climbed up the castle walls and got this view of the Koko-en garden from below. It looks stunning!





One of the new kittens I've seen hanging around outside the castle. This one has a large chunk of his tail missing... (it's definitely not just a bob-tail cat variety, the photo doesn't show it clearly, though.). 
Koko-en














Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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.) ...

Scarecrows and Swordsmen Make for an Exciting Weekend!

This weekend I had two consecutive day trips! On Saturday, November 9th, I went to Aioi to watch a swordsmith make a katana and viewed the Scarecrow Festival; I also went on a bit of a hike, and visited an art museum! Aioi was about an hour away from Shirasagi by car. It was at a higher altitude, so it was a bit chilly in the morning. Once the sun came out, though, it got much more comfortable! The autumn leaves were absolutely stunning; there's nothing quite like seeing mountainsides dotted with colorful trees! The entrance to a main area of Aioi.  The view from the window of the smithy.  The swordsmith at work! He was a junior apprentice, which meant he had to do all the work himself, using this machine to pound the steel. Apparently the grand masters are allowed to have apprentices pound the steel manually for them.  A pond outside the smithy! A watermill fed into it.  An ivy-covered house!  Starting a hike to view a shrine in ...

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.  ...