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The Japanese reverence for nature is evident in their gardens, even in the midst of the concrete jungle monstrosity that is Tokyo. Most of Japan is very mountainous and uninhabited, with something like 70% of the country being urbanized. Last Fall Angela and I took a tour out beyond the city limits into a national park hoping to glimpse the last colors of Autumn (Japanese Maple trees turn bright vivid red, oranges and yellows and seem almost on fire).
We discovered a landscape straight out of a Tolkien novel, complete with an “Argonath-esque” entrance to Gondor (nerd reference). We hiked along a paved path along a river at the bottom of a river, and enjoyed the leisurely stroll as we took in the sights. Located in the Minami Alps north of Yamanashi City, the gulley was in some sort of National Park. Being in Japan there were of course shrines dedicated to some of the awesomeness of nature, but these were unique in that one would put their coin offerings in the actual rocks along the river.
After walking by a beautiful waterfall we walked through tunnels cut into rock from the rushing river below. But what we were really hoping for was to see Fall Foliage. Coming around a bend in the path, a rush of cool air hit us and we saw an awe –inspiring site of a valley seemingly ablaze. Dozens of maple trees were at the peak of their color and we descended into the valley taking pictures all the way. Angela and I have spent much time hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia during the Fall and are used to forests full of color, but this was uniquely Asian given the steep valley and the fact that only a select few deciduous trees had changed color.
We noticed Ginko, Maple, and Cherry trees are the main ones to change color and here was a valley with short, stubby brown leafed trees up the mountain but hidden here along the river was a sea of color. Quite a cathartic experience, and made even better turning around and seeing what looked like rock entrances to some mythic kingdom. We also saw a Godzilla stone statue at the end of the walk bringing it all home.
Pumpkins remind me of the fall leaves in Blacksburg. I was never much of a pumpkin eater until I went to college, and now I can’t get enough of it. When I found this amazing pumpkin muffin pan at Crate and Barrel, I had to buy it. This pan makes 3-D pumpkins that you put together with frosting (cream cheese of course!) And to make the pumpkins even better, we found pumpkin muffin mix at Trader Joes. Mmmm….the taste of fall has never been cuter!
Fall is my favorite time of year. I love watching the leaves change, feeling the air turn crisp, and ordering pumpkin spiced lattes at Starbucks. Unfortunately, San Diego doesn’t get that fall feeling, 
though I do feel the San Diego fall in the air. Last year, I couldn’t tell the difference, but I’ve been here long enough to feel the difference this year. It’s subtle…but there. To enjoy fall, James and I drove to the beautiful mountains of Julian, where us Southern Californians drive to experience fall. At only an hour away, Julian gives you the crisper fall air, slight leave changes, amazing apple pies, and a cute small town feel. Every year they host the Apple Festival, where you can pick your own apples, enjoy homemade cider, apple wine, apple butter, and apple pies. My personal favorite was the pumpkin apple pie.
That piece of pie alone was worth the drive! We actually made two trips to experience fall, one that included some wine tasting and enjoying the cute old mining town of Julian, and one that included apple picking and the pumpkin patch. It was a bad year for apples in southern California, so there wasn’t much picking to be done. It was still beautiful though, and we enjoyed walking through the orchards. We spotted a pumpkin patch on the drive in, so we left the orchard and went to pick out our pumpkins. It was also a bad year for pumpkins, but we were able to find a few cute ones for the apartment. At the pumpkin patch, James and I reminisced about the pumpkin patch in Christiansburg. It really is a hard one to beat, with the beautiful mountains surrounding the farm, the tractors to climb on, the rolling hills of pumpkins, the petting zoo, and of course the home made cider and kettle corn. I could almost taste the homemade cider and feel the crisp air on my cheeks. I miss Blacksburg in the Fall!
The Julian Bakery… Built in 1882… Burned in 1957… Restored in 1978
