Daley-sensei's Adventures in Himeji, Japan.

Yeah yeah... I've been to the castle a lot. But this was the first time I was able to see it entirely finished with its renovations. Now all visitors can go inside the castle and climb to the very top (on the super-steep traditional wooden stairs of doom, no less. Watch your head if you're taller than 5')! Actually though, I had some friends from Phoenix visiting, so it gave me an excuse to properly go inside the grounds, which are fully operational as of the last couple weeks. So I did get to see the castle in ways that I haven't been able to for the last (almost) two years. It was a beautiful sunny day, and since it was a Tuesday the crowds weren't too terrible. But honestly, since the renovations have finished the sheer number of tour buses and groups descending onto the castle has been downright overwhelming. Himeji has definitely done a good job of advertising the reopening around the world. I guess I'm just not used to so many people being around, sin...

These photos are from a couple of weeks ago, when I had a spare Monday off. It just took me until today to have the internet capabilities to share them! (I know I complain a lot, but seriously, I go through unreliable phases so often these days.) It's not often that I've been to the Koko-en on such a beautiful day, only to find it empty. There were maybe three other people in the entire garden when I went! The trick is to get there early in the morning, before the buses of tourists have a chance to start arriving. I took advantage of the opportunity to get some more panorama-style shots of the whole garden. The koi fish were particularly active that morning. I must have just missed feeding time! One of the stone paths you can use to cross the ponds in the garden.  A stone bridge over the main koi pond, without any guardrails. Fun times.  It was May, but for some reason there were a handful of trees in full autumn colors. No complaints from ...

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...