Daley-sensei's Adventures in Himeji, Japan.

Yesterday, February 11th, was "Foundation Day" in Japan, which meant that there wasn't school that day. A few of us Phoenician ALT's got together and split money to rent a car, and we drove out to Asago  to see the Takeda Castle Ruins .  When we left Himeji at 6:30am, it was just starting to snow; by the time we had driven north to Asago, the snow was falling much more heavily, with easily several inches sticking to the ground. We could see the Takeda Castle at the top of the mountain, and I could have sworn I could see what looked to be the specks of people walking along it, but due to the snow the route was closed. However, we did climb up as far as we could go, and saw a few shrines and a temple along the way! The snow was well worth it, though none of us were overly prepared for it, considering the forecast had said it would be sunny. We didn't stay in Asago long, and ended up driving to Kobe to go shopping at the Costco. Japanese Costco's aren't...

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...