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The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” – G.K. Chesterton

Saturday 5 December 2009

Colours of Autumn in Tokyo

Autumn is my favourite season of the year, both in Australia and Japan. I just love the weather during this season, and in Japan we get to enjoy coloured leaves. Coloured leaves are to the Japanese autumn what cherry blossoms are to spring. Just like the Japanese tradition of hanami ("flower viewing") during the sakura (cherry blossoms) season in spring, many Japanese participate in momijigari ("red leaves hunting") in autumn. Right now, most of the deciduous trees in Tokyo have already turned and some are balding, but there are still a number of trees displaying brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow coloured leaves. A month ago, on a gorgeous autumn day with clear blue skies, we headed to Yoyogi Park on two occasions a week apart. On the first week we were there, the leaves were only just beginning to turn. We went to a relatively open area where Zak could roam around (and he had such great fun with the small amount of brown leaves on the ground). A week later we returned to the same spot to find the ground completely covered in yellow ginkgo leaves. I guess the fallen leaves will keep the groundskeepers busy for a while!

Here's a small selection of my favourite shots taken on those two visits:

The "Big Fountain" (first visit):


A bridge near the Big Fountain (first visit):


My two favourite guys, with a lovely backdrop (first visit):


Yellow ginkgo leaves on the ground (second visit):


The sunlight on the yellow fallen ginkgo leaves resulted in a beautiful golden glow (second visit):

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