A quick synopsis...

...of the past few months.

To make a long story short, I have been relentlessly busy doing work-related stuff. Nonetheless, my spare time has been pretty full-up as well. Tonight, I'm shut-in due to a typhoon so I've got a chance to blog about it; here's a quick sampling:

April: Sakura season!

That's right. Early April is-- was-- the time of year when the cherry blossoms appear on the trees. As a result, there were some great opportunities to go-out and take lots of photos. Yessir, three weeks of earthquakes, tsunamis and nuclear emergencies go-down a lot easier under the sakura trees with copious quantities of sake on hand...

May: Universal Studios!
This is something of an annual tradition at my school for the past 5 or 6 years.

Since 2009, I've been taking my students to Universal Studios in Osaka during the spring. Ostensibly, it's for an English-language 'project' but I think it's mainly to allow the freshmen and teachers to have a chance to do something outside of class. The theme of Universal Studios Japan is American films, but it also involves a bizarre mish-mash of random characters ranging from Woody Woodpecker to Elmo from Sesame Street, for God's sake.

Ignoring the more hallucinogenic properties of the park, my once-a-year ride on Hollywood Dream, their 2-minute and 31-second roller-coaster, is something I look forward to.

June: Kyoto's Kinkakuji!

Believe it or not, despite having been to Kyoto multiple times, I was never in a position to see the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, which is probably the most famous building in the country. The fact that I could finally get some pictures of my own is something of a relief to me.

The semester is finishing-up and then I'll be going on my long-awaited visit to Beijing in late August. I figure I'll be getting some decent pictures, so stay tuned.