March 10, 2009

A Spring Stroll

Its not quite Spring here, but it seems like its just around the corner. Today was (finally) a nice sunny almost-springy day. The plum blossoms, which bloom before the acclaimed-to-the-point-of-insanity-! cherry blossoms, are peaking out. The sun was shining.

Mike thought that it seemed like a good day to take a stroll through the grounds of Osaka Castle in lieu of lunch. From the Osaka Business Park (OBP), where Mike works, is a nice 10 minute walk to the front gates of the Osaka Castle. While Osaka Castle is not a "real" old Japanese castle (like Himeji Castle and others), in that it has been rebuilt and refurbished, it is still an impressive sight. And the grounds are really nice. There is a big park, with lots of walking and biking traffic, as well as black cats and those larger-than-you-can-believe Japanese crows. There is also a nice plum blossom garden. To reach the castle, you have to walk across the moat on a wooden bridge. Then you make your way up the hill, past the outer foundation of giant stones, through the gates and further up the hill.

Here are some shots of the castle and the ground from the trusty camera-phone:



Here is one shot looking back at OBP, where Mike works:


Sure beat lunch in the Panasonic Cafeteria!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

It's all attitude. Everyone has places to go and things to see, but it's your mind set that says, "Do it!" Nice pictures from a lovely lunch time walk. Congrats for doing it and for immersing your family in the wonders of a new place.

When you return, I will conscript you to immerse me in your life a bit more. You handle it well.

Ask Joyce to refer you to the article in the NYTimes about expats returning home and their feelings about that.

Much love~ jack

Mike said...

Thanks Jack! Looking forward to spending more time together when we are back. Hopefully our "repatriation" (now that is a big scary word!) goes off without a hitch!