Daley-sensei's Adventures in Himeji, Japan.

Yoshino Mountain is located in Nara Prefecture, and it is often considered one of the best places in Japan to see cherry blossoms. It takes about three hours and multiple train connections to get there from Himeji, which means that if you leave early enough, it's day-trip doable. I went there last weekend, on the 11th of April. The temperature was warm, but the weather alternated between foggy and cloudy. The trails were quite muddy due to the rainy days all of the week prior, but the views were still stunning! The trees were in various stages of losing their blossoms, so with each gust of wind petals were knocked off and blown about, creating a snowy impression. I wish I could have seen it on a sunny day, with the blossoms at their peak! I did my best to photograph the beautiful cherry-covered slopes during my hike, but the fog mutes the bright colors of the blossoms. New cherry leaves grow in with an orange-red color, which combined with the lingering pink and white blossoms c...

As I mentioned in the previous post, the weather this year was less than cooperative when it came to enjoying the cherry blossom season. It rained nearly every day, causing the blossoms to open late and then to fall off quite early. It was really tough to get good photographs this year! So, for the few days of good weather, I wandered around Himeji as best I could to appreciate the blossoms. The crowds were pretty intense around the castle this year, since the grand reopening of Himeji Castle on March 27th. Even on the rainiest days there were thousands of people touring the castle from all over the world. Even now, nearly three weeks later, the crowds have yet to let up. I wonder if this is how busy the castle normally is, when it isn't under renovation? I'm lucky in that I get to see the castle twice a day, every day, while I head to and back from work. No matter what time of day it is, or how bad the weather is, the castle never ceases to be awe-inspiring. It changes co...

For my birthday I decided to spend the day in Nara; I couldn't have asked for better weather, but I was a touch early for enjoying the cherry blossom season. Most of the cherry trees were still growing their buds, but a few had opened up early, to the thrill of all the photographers. I kid you not, there were impromptu lines forming at the handful of blooming trees, so that everyone could get a chance at an uninterrupted photograph or two. And if the cherry trees weren't quite ready, the magnolias (I think?) more than made up for it by being in full, fragrant bloom! The blossoms of these trees are really big, easily the size of a human hand. I was surprised that there were several areas in Nara dedicated just to magnolias. As a final birthday bonus, I somehow managed to get to Nara the day they were having their "Strawberry Festival." Nara Park was covered in booths selling all sorts of locally-grown strawberry-based foods and desserts; there were even several ve...