Daley-sensei's Adventures in Himeji, Japan.

Albeit a short post. Busy as usual, but here's a few updates from New Years! I stayed local again this year, and went to Syosha Temple to see the lantern displays. It was very crowded! The line was a good city-block long to get in. And I was off to a  great start, seeing how I got to the front of the line, and realized I'd forgotten my wallet. Ran back home, did the line again, and wound up getting a "bad luck" fortune. Like last year, everyone walked through this bamboo circle before entering the temple gates.  The lanterns with red writing say "Phoenix" in katakana , though it probably is in reference to the nearby pachinko  parlor, and not to the city.  This wasn't actually Syosha temple, but the one right next to the castle (whose name I don't know, sorry!). There were hardly any people here, just a few other late-night photographers. It was very serene!  On the 2nd, I went to get rid of my bad fortune by tying it to a ...

I went to Nara for the first time (finally)! I've been meaning to go since last year, but always wound up getting side tracked. It was well worth the wait, though. I spent the whole day there (arrived at 9:30, left around 3:45), and I still didn't see everything that I wanted to see. Alas, my fully-charged camera couldn't withstand a couple more hours of photographing, so I didn't try too hard to find a couple of gardens I had heard about once it ran out of batteries. I'll just have to go again during Spring! Since I was on my own, I mostly just wandered wherever I found something interesting; which, with a whole mountain area to explore, meant that I didn't find everything. I also have no idea what half of the places I found are called, so I'll just let my photos speak for themselves. Nara is famous for the deer that wander through the temples and shrines. They were quite literally everywhere. I couldn't turn my head without spotting at least four ...