Day 94/365: And so it begins...

...fresh-faced, full of dreams

'Tis the season for university induction ceremonies. Staff had their turn on Monday. Today, all the new students get their first taste of the next four years of their lives. The ceremony is a formal one (all the students in suits and shiny shoes), it is as formal as a graduation ceremony, just that it is the start of their studies. The orientation sessions come a little bit later. 

Until Monday, I would have only had to attend one, as a staff member of the Law Faculty; since Monday, however, as a new member of the executive, I get to attend all three, the two undergraduate ceremonies and the Graduate School version.

Lucky there is lots to look at at the western campus in the meantime...

By the bus stop

Early morning

Late afternoon

Autumn-looking Spring foliage

Along the way

Spring mix

The pink and the white

Work...

It is going to be a busy year ahead. 

[Camera : iPhone6s, 7.21am, 9.07am, 5.27pm-5.29pm; 4 April 2018] 

Day 93/365: Off to smell the tulips ...

...while they last

Cherry blossoms are just about done around Tokyo. The pink petals are on the ground, getting mashed; the new leaves are covering the branches in green; ephemeral. We move onto the next spring thing (azaleas and rhododendrons appearing soon...). 

Except, around Ariake we still have the thousands of tulips. Granted, some of them are starting to look a bit tired, they've opened wide and showing off their middles before shedding petal by petal. 

This afternoon I went for a late lunch and then a walk by one of the beds near the campus entrance, the sun setting just at the right time, the right angle. 

It was just a short ten minutes wandering through the garden beds but just long enough to marvel at nature and take in, just for a moment (or ten), the essence of this blog project: enjoy the little things (for when you return to the office, you have all that work ahead...). 

[Camera : Canon EOS M5, 4.49pm-4.58pm; *no edits*, 3 April 2018] 

Day 92/365: It is official...

...properly inducted

Today was the first day of the academic year (well, 1 April actually but being Sunday, things didn't really happen until today). For us, that means a day of formalities as new staff are presented with their certificates of appointment and well, ahem, staff promotions are also formalised with presentations of our certificates of appointment. Our? you ask. Yes, I was one of the promoted today, formally taking up the position of Director of International Relations, a senior position in the university with responsibility for promoting exchanges and international cooperation. 

It will be a big job. But I'm also quite looking forward to the possibilities. 

The day's proceedings didn't leave me with much time to get out and about, and I'm not sure of the University's position on taking pics of the day for a personal blog...

The barque is in 

The big wheel keeps on turning

Appointed

...so instead, it was just a glance out the window, taking in the view, taking in the sense of responsibility that I was feeling a the end of the day. 

There is a lot to do.

[Camera : Canon EOS M5, 5.38pm; 2 April 2018] 

Day 91/365: A day out...in Nikko

...before the year begins again

It was a fairly late evening confirmation from friends but 'shall we meet in Nikko tomorrow', was an invite that was a bit hard to turn down, even if it did mean a 5.30 alarm to make the train north in time. (Let's face it, I was getting up at that time this time last week to catch a plane, so really...)

I've been to Nikko a few times, mostly in autumn to catch the wonderful autumn colours. It is quite a sight. Nikko is also the place of the Toshogu Shrine, perhaps the most exquisitely realised shrine in Japan, in terms of colours, carvings, gold...and the tomb of Tokugawa Ieyasu. 

There were lots of people there today, being a Sunday and fine; and I went to a few different places today, places I haven't been previously, including the country retreat of the Taisho Emperor and Empress. The Taisho era lasted just a few years in the early twentieth century, sandwiched between the Meiji era of his father and the Showa era of his son. 

It starts at the bridge...

Clear waters

Founding father

The pagoda

Those monkeys

The best cherry blossoms today (a bit early for the real ones)

Detail

Ieyasu's tomb

Almost in bloom

Lunch

Bloom

The Imperial Garden

Escape route

Not a bad weekender

The trinkets and o-mamori, mementoes of the day

And so begins the new academic year tomorrow. Clearing the mind and the lungs in the cool of the mountain air of Nikko was certainly a good way to get started.

[Camera : Canon EOS M5, 10.32am-3.47pm; 1 April 2018]