Spring Snow and Other Things

Spring Snow, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

The photo was taken on March 26th. Yet, it snowed again on April 1st. Has this been a long winter? Yes. When I look at photos taken by some of my contacts on Flickr I see subjects like their kids' Sakura Matsuri. I have no idea when we're going to see anything blossom around here but at the rate we're going it might be around the same time as Uesugi Matsuri which this year is being held from April 29th.

Nonetheless the snow has melted enough such that virtually all roads and sidewalks are clear. That means I don't have to resort to walking everywhere. That's a welcome change. It'll be nice to be able to go a little farther when exploring this city.

Speaking of exploring, I didn't do too bad in March walking about. I found a Jodo Shinshu temple which is affiliated with Nishi Hongwanji (the same main temple which the Vancouver Buddhist Temple is associated with), a hobby shop and a pretty good gyoza shop hidden on a side street. I also managed to trek out to Yamagata to watch a friend play a gig there. So in spite of no car and a long winter I've managed to get out and about.

One place I checked out today was a restaurant called Silk Road. It's run by an Iranian fellow and he specializes in Persian cuisine. The food is quite tasty (I ordered a chicken shish kebab dish) and the atmosphere is much like the Persian restaurants I've been to back home though not quite as polished and snazzy. All in all it was a welcome treat to be able to go out and try something different.