The leaves, bright against clouds or blue autumn skies, fascinate me. I turn to stare at every bit of red or gold that I pass on the train or taxi. The low, warm sunlight through the leaves makes me incredibly happy, as does the chance to jump on the crunchy leaves which have already fallen.
Saturday I kidnapped Matcha-kun and submitted him to a long tour of Koishikawa Korakuen... although admittedly, he didn't seem to mind at all. As with many Japanese gardens, it was smaller than I thought, and Tokyo Dome loomed in the background. However, it is filled with secret little corners, like a treasure hunt. Bridges and stepping stones, a miniature rice field and strange little tombs all appear as soon as you turn a corner. The garden is famous for iroha momiji, which have tiny little leaves, and turn a very striking shade of red.
Sunny autumn afternoons have a special, glittering romance to them, which we continued by walking over to nearby Kagurazaka and hiding out at Gelateria Theobroma. While the main draw may be the icecream, the spiced hot chocolate was perfect to warm up from the chill, thick and truly chocolaty. I love the location as well, away from the main drag and designed to look like one of Rome's buttery yellow buildings.
The only sad thing is that the leaves will only be around for another couple weeks... perhaps I should take a few days off just to stare at the trees?
I love the changing leaves too..!! Japan's landscape is quite a wonder sometimes @o@
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had quite the romantic day! Yaaay! :D
Also, I want hot choco.. I only seem to find variants of coffee :< lol
There are a few places that apparently do decent hit chocolate, but they all tend to be pricy: Theobroma, Godiva, Maidon du Chocolat
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