Daley-sensei's Adventures in Himeji, Japan.

Still catching up from my last trips in Japan. This post is dedicated to Tottori, which is famous for its Sand Museum and its sand dunes. There's a train from Himeji to Tottori every two hours, as well as direct buses to take, so it's entirely possible to visit everything in Tottori in a day. The Sand Museum was my first stop. Its displays change each year; 2015's theme was "Germany." All of the sand sculptures, which were created by artists from all over the world, had something to do with German culture: there was a large area dedicated just to the Brothers' Grimm, Germany history (from Kaiser Wilhelm, to the printing press, to WWII and more modern events, like the tearing down of the Berlin Wall and their soccer team), German music (all the famous composers), and more. There was even a statue for Anne Frank. The lighting in the warehouse where they were stored was not cooperating with my camera, but I did manage to get a few photos to come out... ...

This was actually from July, but I haven't had time yet to upload my pictures. For those wondering, I've finished moving back to the US, so once I finish my last couple catch-up posts, I won't have anything new to add here. But more on that later. Here's some pictures from Hiroshima, and I'll do my best to remember what happened last month! Hiroshima I took a shinkansen  to Hiroshima, from Himeji, early in the morning sometime either July 6th or 7th (I truly can't remember which day). It was pretty much pouring rain the entire day! Good thing I planned an overnight trip, because there was a lot to do in the city. I walked nearly everywhere, though trams and trains were an option. I started at the Shukkuien gardens, which were near the station; Shukkuien apparently translates to "little shrub" garden, but it should probably be renamed to the "crab" garden. There were, literally, crabs everywhere: yellow crabs, red crabs, brown crabs,...

On Monday I spent most of the day visiting a part of Kobe I had never been to before. Part of the Rokko Mountain chain that borders the city, the Herbal Gardens can be reached by ropeway from Shin-Kobe Station. At the top, you get some lovely views of the city, provided, of course, that it isn't raining. But if it does rain, the garden staff have stations where they provide free umbrellas to use. Definitely convenient! Once you reach the top, there's a small rose garden tucked in the back. Many of the blossoms had fallen, but plenty were still in bloom. They smelled great in the rain!  There were other flowers besides roses, of course....  The roses came in every possible color!  The raindrops actually created a lovely effect, once I figured out how to balance my umbrella and camera simultaneously...  After the rose garden, I slowly worked my way down the paths to experience the rest of the Herbal Gardens. Some of the area...