The cherry blossoms are in full bloom and fortunate for us the Kobe Mission area has some of the best and most famous viewing spots in Japan. One great place is Himeji Castle.
On preparation day we visited Himeji and met up with several missionaries. Some were viewing and others planned to do some sports activities at the castle park.
This is the inner most mote around the castle with cherry blossoms.
Elders Steele and Wintz.
Sisters Glenn, McIntyre and Yamashita with the bamboo. Not sure what they are doing?
Another castle shot. People love to picnic under the trees this time of year and there are lots of people around to talk to!
Here is a group of missionaries. Yamashita, Glenn, Sorensen, Throop, Mizuguchi, Wintz, Steele, Remund, Varjao, Rasmussen, Merrick and Payne.
This is a shot from the front of the castle. It is about 400 years old and one of the largest still existing in Japan. The grounds are very spacious and you can see the castle from miles away as it stands high in the center of the valley.
Outside the walls, vendors are selling traditional Japanese festival food. That what I call it anyway.
Candied fruit.
Tako Yaki - Octopus dumpling balls
Sweet bean cakes.
Okonomiyaki - Pancake style cabbage and meat cakes.
And of course your basic squid on a stick.
Another pancake type roll on a stick. Shrimp in the middle.
This week we travelled to Fukuchiyama to interview the missionaries and to hold my monthly meeting with the District President. We noticed the sakura blooming at the Fukuchiyama Castle so we stopped and got a quick picture. This is a great little castle in the center of town set on a big hill. Not too sure of the history on this one, but it was certainly lived in hundreds of years by a Daimyo and Samurai who ruled the area.
Here is a picture of the zone. Elders Nicerio, Ritchie, Cutler, Sheffield, Badger, Bohman, Ito and Oshiro.
Elder Fukui, who works in the office right now had a birthday this week and it seems that everyone made him a cake!
