Oshiro-yama All Covered in Snow

I love the little yama near my apartment.  Yama = mountain, but it’s not really a Rocky-sized mountain, nor is it a hill.  There’s really no other way to describe it than ‘yama.’  I took a photo of a torii (Shinto shrine archway) in the summer and fall, and knew that I’d have to trek up after the next big snowfall to get a winter shot.  We got loads of snow dumped on us this week, and in fact, it’s still snowing.  Tuesday was a pretty nice day but the snow wasn’t quite powder and I messed the shot up a little.  On Wednesday there was much more powder but the sky was all grey.  On the way up yesterday evening, I met a grandpa-aged man who became very interested in me when he heard my accent.  We climbed to the top together, and as it turns out is yet another Murakamian who noticed my article in the paper.  What a funny man he was, stopping in his tracks every time he learned something new about me.  ‘Whhhhaaaat?? You’re from Chicago??  Do you know Mr. Obama??’  ‘WOW you’re only 23 years old and in Japan all alone???’  ‘Oh My!!  You’re mother is from Niigata??’  ‘You like sushi??’  With all these stops, it took a little longer than usual to get to the top.  Once I started taking my pictures, he ditched me to climb back down.  I caught up with him at the bottom, we exchanged phone numbers, and he said he would take me to a really good restaurant in Murakami (^.^)V