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Lately it has been quite chilly here in good ole Kyoto City. Thank goodness that Japan doesn't believe in insulation or else I would be really cold (please sense the sarcasm)! For all those that live or have lived in Japan, I know you feel me on this one. Why none of the buildings or home s are insulated here is beyond my comprehension! Japan gets pretty harsh weather extremes, and well, insulated buildings would really come in handy during those times. But, whatever.

This is one of those few times that I really appreciate the small size of my apartment because it doesn't take much to heat it up therefore saving me a few yen on my electric bill at the end of the month.

But, with the cold 30-40 degree weather we are experiencing comes the beautiful precipitation in the form of crystalline water ice, a.k.a snow.

My view right as I step out of my building.

It is mornings like this one which really makes me wish that California experienced seasons other than spring and summer.

Although the snow rarely sticks like in the photos above, I just thought I would give you a glimpse of the pleasant surprise I had one morning on my way to work at 7:45am (I actually almost slipped on my brisk walk to the train station, but luckily I have the reflexes of cat, hahahaha, and was spared THAT humiliation!).

This is what happens when you leave your bike outside overnight in this weather. Good thing my friend Alisa opted for a cab instead.

Another fun event that happened was that my friend Lisa came to visit me the other weekend and we had a great time getting caught in the light snow falls while running around the city!

Outside the entrance to the Imperial Palace, just a block away from me and my tiny apartment!

Returning home from our day trip to Osaka. Loving the snow! Gee, is it obvious that I have hardly ever seen snow fall in my life? *sigh* I am truly a Southern California girl huh?

There are actually some more stories from the lovely Lisa's visit, but I will have to save those for another post because it is getting late in the evening and I need my beauty sleep! Until then...ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.