Winter in Japan, Fall in California
Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall. - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Fall and winter are my favorite seasons. When everything starts to wither, the temperature drops, and nights grow longer, I find myself coming to life. Sipping on something warm and bundling up. Hearing the leaves crunch under each step. Feeling snow in my palm and on my cheeks.
Tokyo, Japan
© 2020 | Anjeliqueca
It snowed briefly on our trip to Japan in January. While sitting in front of the heater stretching our limbs after our trip from Kyoto to Tokyo, snow started to fall. On the shinkansen (bullet train), if the skies are clear, you might catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji between Kyoto and Tokyo. We weren’t that lucky on our bullet train trips because of cloudy skies and rain, but in the outskirts of Tokyo the rain was snow.
The treetops and bicycle seats carried piles of fluff, but the asphalt melted the snow on contact. The snow turned to a light drizzle as we made our way to Takeshita Street in Harajuku. Under umbrellas looking up as we passed Tokyu Plaza. Over a sea of umbrellas as we stole warmth in Shibuya Tsutaya. Umbrellas tucked away as we explored Odaiba at night.
Colorful shops line the narrow Takeshita Street in Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan.
© 2020 | Anjeliqueca
The mirrored Kaleidoscope Entrance of Tokyu Plaza Omotesando Harajuku was designed by Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP and Takenaka Corporation.
© 2020 | Anjeliqueca
View Shibuya Scramble Crossing at the Starbucks in Shibuya Tsutaya then explore the vast CD/DVD selection.
© 2020 | Anjeliqueca
Odaiba’s Seaside Terrace signage and lights are reflected by wet deck after a rainy winter day.
© 2020 | Anjeliqueca
The following day, rain and snow were gone leaving clear skies and a view of Fuji-san that stayed with us on our trip to Yokohama.
View of Mt. Fuji in Tokyo, Japan.
© 2020 | Anjeliqueca
I don’t know when I’ll be able to see snow or Japan again, but I anticipate I’ll always be excited for fall and winter wherever I am. Even here in California, as weather forecasts predict temperatures rising to 80-90 degrees, fall is arriving and I couldn’t be happier. Watching leaves yellow and crisp. Waiting for persimmons to ripen. Sipping hot tea throughout the day.
This time of year brings much joy, despite how this season looks in this particular year. Although there’s grief in change, there’s also hope—a chance for a change in power, a shift in society, and holidays reimagined. If fall and winter are symbolic of anything, it is a reminder that happiness and sadness can coincide side by side.
