Autumn Sentiment

In Japan, many people adore autumn for a lot of reasons.

First of all, autumn boasts the most perfect temperature. It's neither cold nor hot. It's neither humid nor dry (humidity is a common cause for complaint here). As the temperature cools down, leaves begin to change colours. Many Japanese I have met are quite sentimental towards the sight of autumn leaves. Places like Hakone and Kyoto often receive an influx of tourists for this reason alone. If you ever have the chance to hike up Mt. Hakone, you will understand their sentiment. When you look at these autumn leaves from far away, millions of them in different shades of red, the mountain looks like a sea of fire. The view is certainly breathtaking.

As for me, I have never been much of a nature lover. While I agree that nature is beautiful, I have never felt the urge to hop on the next train to see the leaves fall or the first sunrise. My appreciation for autumn is due to one thing: food.

The colder it gets, the more my appetite grows. Supermarkets start selling baked sweet potatoes, roasted chestnuts and pumpkin. With pumpkin, though, I’m not sure if its popularity is due to the season or Halloween. If you live in Japan like I do, you will agree that the smell of charcoal-baked sweet potatoes is heavenly. It’s guaranteed to make your mouth water!

Not only that, Japan is also renowned for releasing limited-edition food in convenience stores. Be sure to check out sweet-potato potato chips or sugar-coated sweet potatoes the next time you’re in town!