Tsutsuji now at full bloom. Maples a gorgeous shade of green. Pine trees look awesome all year round.

Late spring and early summer is probably the best time of year for the shear array of colours.

The ryokan gardens are getting even greener, and even the azaleas are making a surprise early appearance.

The gardens at Nanten-en are looking far more vibrant now that the cherry blossoms are gone.

The maples, looking splendidly emerald, are the unsung heroes of spring.

Perks of the job. Public onsen entirely to myself.

So long to another relentless Sakura season.

Last Sakura photo of the season I think. A nice one with a greenish hue. Only one of its kind I've seen in the area.

Another video up on the ryokan YT channel today.

This time walking south from Amami Station along the Yaezakura promenade to our sister cafe, Q-Emon in the south of the village.

Shot in a single take as always. One day I'll find time to learn editing!

youtu.be/eO34mzqhrWs?si…

Cherry blossom season isn't quite over down here in Southern Osaka.

The late blooming Yaezakura are just hitting their peak.

A good place to see them is the pedestrian path running south from Amami Station on the Nankai Koya Line.

Bit into my Snickers bar on the way to work this morning and though, 'the peanuts are crunchier than normal today'.

Turns out I had chewed and swallowed one of my wisdom teeth that had decided to collapse..

Today's rain finished off most of the somei-yoshino trees today but the big old Oshima-zakura next to Amami Station is just reaching peak.

And it looks like some time next week the yaezakura will come into their own stride.

Pretty much at peak sakura at the ryokan now so I did a quick walkthrough of the gardens and put the video up on YT today.

The only tree that isn't at its peak is the old Oshima-zakura overhanging the station building.

youtube.com/watch?v=Tt-v-Z…

Friday adventure.

Doing a stretch of the Choishi Michi pilgrimage from Kudoyama to Koyasan.

Only about 1/3 of the route today, will probably do the complete trail at the end of the month.

Exhausted. April is by far the busiest time of year for me, with 99% of ryokan guests coming from Europe or America.

12 hour shifts covering everything from room cleaning to kaiseki serving to guiding.

Pretty nice view, though.

Narrated a tea ceremony for 6 guests this morning. Always good fun, though slightly challenging today as there were a couple of young kids in the group

My Japanese isn't good enough to translate directly so I've had to learn everything almost to master level to confidently teach

Obligatory first cherry blossom of the season photo, a Shidare-zakura (weeping cherry blossom).

There is a Somei Yoshino just behind it that is also coming along quite nicely.

Yesterday we held a small event at work showcasing Taiwanese Tea Ceremony.

As someone who has attended and narrated dozens of Japanese Tea Ceremonies, it was fascinating to experience another style.

The focus of Taiwanese Tea Ceremony is on the flavour rather than the ritual.

A quick jaunt up one of my favourite trails near work to try and get some pictures of the woods full of mist.

Unfortunately it was too cold for any mist to form but the sound of the waterfalls and the colours were nice.

I got absolutely soaked in the heavy rain though.

The goal of yesterday's little excursion was to find these carvings of Jizo and Kannon in a cliff face.

Completed in 1931, it was to pray for souls of pilgrims who died falling from what was once a particularly treacherous route to Koyasan.

Tough walk ahead of me today. Not going up high but will be going pretty far along roads I've not taken before.

The 500 year old plum tree at work is finally starting to approach peak bloom though it still has quite a few buds still to open.

For some reason this year, it has decided to sprout some flowers directly out of the damp, mossy underside of the trunk...

One of the more unusual things I've come across in all the temples I've visited over the years.

Kubi-Nashi Jizo, statues of Jizo that had their heads broken off as soon as they were carved.

First time I've seen something like this.