is for Aki, or the Japanese word for Autumn. Before coming to Japan, I’d never considered autumn to be a particularly colorful season. Growing up in Louisiana, the season had meant brown pine needles and sticky cones; icicles dripping off the eaves of my family’s porch. Giant piles of leaves, raked up and piled for bonfires in the evening. In California, the only hint of the season’s change are the golden hills of sun-dried grass and the sudden, inexplicable disappearance of the oak trees’ leaves.
Japan’s autumn is a bonfire––both literally and figuratively––with summer fire festivals preceding the explosion of the warm side of the color wheel. It is my favorite time of year, with cool, crisp air and the lingering heat of summer. The whole world changes before your eyes. Sometimes, autumn in Kyoto can be over in as little as two weeks, and I’m always a little sad when that happens.
It is probably going to be one of the things I miss the most about Japan when we move.
Ariel Hudnall 
93 responses to “A is for 秋”
Beautiful pictures. Where I grew up, autumn was beautiful and colorful. I’ve always loved the smells and the sounds of geese flying south.
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Yes, I’m looking forward to those sounds when I move to Vancouver! Though i’ve heard the Canada geese are sometimes seen as more of a nuisance than a beautiful bird, I love them!
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I understand not getting autumn if you live in a southern climate. I had no idea that not everyone had autumn until we lived in Texas for a couple years. No colors, just turn brown and die. Vivid color changes are the best! Glad you have a chance to experience them!
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Yep, in Alabama we get colors for about a week. A lot of the trees just stay green all year, or at least late into “winter”, because it’s still warm outside despite the calendar!
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Where I lived in Louisiana, it was just pine trees…. pine trees, and magnolia trees, everywhere. It made fall very stark and brownotonous, and also meant sweeping the deck and raking the leaves every day! Haha. We did get cardinals, though. I miss those birds. So colorful. 🙂
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Oh yes, I love the cardinals. Especially if we do lose some leaves and it’s just little red birds in the brown branches… Mm. 🙂
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I’m glad I’ve had the experience, too! Though I do miss the icicles… we don’t get them here, very much. Probably because pipe systems have been upgraded a bit since I was a kid, haha.
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LOVE. These photos are divine.
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Thank you, Sabina! I appreciate it, coming from you. ^_^
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Beautiful photos! I guess I have always taken Autumn’s colours for granted. Living in Canada, I see them every year.
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I’m glad to hear they’ll still be around for me in Canada! I love autumn. The colors, the risp air. It’s a great season, and very comfortable. 🙂
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Lovely photos. Autumn is my favorite time of year, but it isn’t the same where I’m from. We barely have any trees, mostly endless farmland. Looking at the pictures, I can almost smell the beautiful decay.
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Yes, it’s definitely a beautiful decay. I bet the farmlands offer their own charm in the fall. I imagine it looks similar to late summers in California. Gold, sun-bleached grasses everywhere. 🙂
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I love that sign about the monkeys.
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Yes, its one of my favorite pictures, haha. Where is the button?! (The monkeys are actually prone to attacking people if they feel threatened, so the sign is no joke. 😛 )
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Gorgeous pictures. Autumn never looks that good in lower Michigan.
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Thanks for the visit, Denise! What would you say is the best season for Michigan? I’ve never actually gone there!
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How strange. I’ve never considered that in some places people don’t get to see the beautiful colors of autumn.
Your pics are beautiful!
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Thanks so much, Sarah! It’s okay. We really only know what seasons we’re exposed to. For instance, Californians don’t generally understand that what they call winter, or summer, is not what a majority of the rest of the states feel for that season. Hahah.
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Lovely pictures, and I learned something new today too 🙂
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Thanks a million, Sheena!
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Such beautiful colors in your pictures. 🙂
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Thank you! Sometimes the colors are quite unreal!
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Beautiful colours!
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Thank you, Anabel. I’ve been enjoying your photo blog tremendously. 🙂
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Thank you!
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Such glorious pictures! Autumn in Central California is more subtle…still hot days, but surprisingly crisp nights. – Fawn
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Yes, when I lived in Northern California I got spoiled by the weather. I almost forgot that the sharp divisions between seasons could exist, though.
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Seems like it was quite an eye opener for you. Those photos are beautiful.
Autumn is my favourite time of year too. We get long, colourful autumns in the UK.
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Oh, it was wonderful, Tee. Like walking across a painter’s palette board. So beautiful.
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Stunning! I can believe you’ll miss that, I’d miss it too 🙂 The closest I got was autumns in Connecticut which were similarly pretty.
Happy A to Z! 🙂
@TarkabarkaHolgy from
Multicolored Diary – Epics from A to Z
MopDog – 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary
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Thank you! (Also, thanks for the links… I hadn’t found your second entry! Looks fab!)
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Beautiful! My first trip to Japan was in October of 2005 – I was so pleased to see the leaves change. I love the autumn here in Ontario too – hopefully it will be just as wonderful for you in B.C. 😀
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That’s what I’m hoping, too, Linda! It has been absolutely lovely. I get one more season of it before we leave. I’m going to soak it up!
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Wow, those are such beautiful pictures of autumn. Makes me wish it weren’t spring.
Good luck with the 2015 A to Z Challenge!
A to Z Co-Host S. L. Hennessy
http://pensuasion.blogspot.com
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Hahah, I’m not quite at that point just yet! The cherry blossoms just exploded over here, so we’re enjoying that right now. 🙂
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Japan is like Michigan in autumn. So many colors of the turning leaves. It’s beautiful. I’m not sure I could imagine living somewhere that’s not as colorful.
~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Member of C. Lee’s Muffin Commando Squad
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author
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Yeah, I only have one more season of this (don’t know what to expect in Vancouver), so I’m going to live it up and sit outside every day!
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Beautiful. I love Japan, the food the people, and the colors. I’ve not been to Kyoto, but these pictures brought me back to the time I spent there.
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How cool! What part of Japan did you visit, Kristy? 🙂
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Beautiful! I live in upstate NY and we get some pretty nice autumns too. I would love to Autumn in Japan though and all the other seasons too.
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Oh! I’ve heard amazing things about NY autumn! How awesome. 🙂 If you get the chance to come, I definitely recommend it. Late November is the perfect time to come to Kyoto.
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Yeah, pretty much my experience of fall is of brown.
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Yeah… it can sort of make winter feel suuuuper long, with the only difference between the two being whether there are any leaves on the trees or not.
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autumn is my favorite time of year, too. And the foliage is so pretty.
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Thanks so much, Sonia! And I agree! Like a bouquet spread over a hill. 🙂
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My favorite time of year, too. The colors in Japan rival those in our Smokey Mountains but ours can last for four weeks or more.
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I think it’s great that they last so long. The leaves are also much bigger, as far as my memory goes. Japanese maples are very delicate and small, nothing like their N.A. cousins!
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Stunning photos! Looks so beautiful!
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Thank you, Michelle!
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Hi Alex, I love all that colour. Here the level of colour really depends on the weather that leads up to it. It always feels sad in the years that the leaves are dimmer. Bright oranges and reds are best!
And I just have to ask…what’s the deal with the monkeys? 🙂
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Haha, there is a place in Kyoto called Arashiyama, and there are wild snow monkeys that live on the mountain. About 47 of them, all related. A huge family. You can go up and watch them. They’re beautiful…. but sometimes dangerous… hence the sign. Though, the button for help is long gone! Haha.
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I guess the monkeys took care of it! 😉
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Gorgeous photos! Some day I hope to visit Kiyomizudera when the maple leaves are turning. I set one of my stories there in the year 1880.
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Great year to set a story! Yes, Kiyomizu is a beautiful temple, but ALWAYS crowded! Yikes! Hahah. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
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What an admirable and exciting time in your life to be able to experience living in Japan as an English Instructor. Enriching your writing with the language, the culture and the stunning photos you have shared in this post is priceless. A lovely beginning for the challenge. Well done, Alex.
Sue at CollectInTexas Gal
AtoZ 2015 Challenge
Minion for AJ’s wHooligans
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Thank you very much, Sue! Sorry I’m only getting back to you now… was out of town for another adventure!
I love what you’re doing with your challenge, too. The post on palomino horses was awesome!
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Beautiful pictures. Definitely want to see Japan in person now.
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I hope you can! It really is like nothing else (especially if you grew up in North America).
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Autumn looks amazing there. Sad to say, it’s not quite that nice in Vancouver.
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Noooo~ dreams crushed, haha. But, hey, you’ve got those mountains!
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The mountains are nice! And so is spring this year.
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BTW, you might want to include a digital signature… I’ve noticed that your name takes me back to your old site, instead of your new one!
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I especially like that last picture. If I were there, I’d probably push that button and wait for the staff 🙂 Unfortunately, I’ve not had the opportunity to be in Japan during the autumn season but I’m sure it is as you described, a riot of colours. And knowing the Japanese, this riot of colours are celebrated with a myriad of festivals. They do love their change of season 😀
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So. Many. Festivals. It’s crazy! Hahah. Also, people. More people than the roads can contain.
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…and I thought autumn here was pretty special. Wow!
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Wow, what wonderful pictures and you make it sound so fabulous too. It sounds absolutely lovely. The colours remind me of a Sumac tree my parents had in their previous garden – such fantastic reds and yellows.
Tasha
Tasha’s Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)
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Great post. I’m looking forward to all these Japan-themed posts; I lived there many years ago.
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Very cool! What part of Japan did you live in?
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Nagoya, and only for a year. I visited Kyoto a couple of times, and from what I know about Nagoya and about the rest of Japan, Kyoto seems by far to be the most beautiful city.
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It definitely has its charm. I had a friend who stayed in Nagoya, and when I tried to visit her, she said not to bother because there was nothing to see! I find that hard to believe. 😛
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There’s Nagoya Castle and … not much else; I am not sure how Kyoto escaped being levelled in the war, but it’s a great thing it wasn’t
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It was specifically spared during the bombings because the Secretary of War had spent time there during his honeymoon. That’s the ONLY reason… it was actually the first target on the proposed list.
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Wow. I assumed it was because there were no factories there, that it was of no military value, like Dresden … until they decided to bomb Dresden, that is
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They didn’t bomb it, but they did occupy it. The Botanical Garden was used as a storage bunker for supply (like rice rations), during the occupation.
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Your photos are simply stunning! LIke you, I LOVE autumn best and wish it was much, much longer 🙂
I really liked the sign about pushing the button if you’re afraid of monkeys!
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Yeah, it gives me a good chuckle, too. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by Joanne!
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Those autumn colors are stunning… almost surreal… *sigh*
A reminder of one of my favorite jazz songs: Autumn Leaves…
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WOW! That’s amazing fall color! I’ve lived all my life in the Western US–we don’t get “real” fall color either. Great photos, too.
Thanks for stopping by my place–now I can follow you and enjoy your pictures!
Rebecca at The Ninja Librarian
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I love your blog, so it makes me happy to see you here, too. 🙂 I hope a lot of people will check out your challenge today!
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Those are gorgeous pictures! Autumn is my favoritest season, because of the beautiful changing colors and all the holidays right after one another. I also love that sign about the monkeys.
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Hello Carrie-Anne!!! *waves*
Yeah, I get a giggle every time I see the monkey sign. They’ve never fixed it in the five years I’ve been here!
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Spectacular! I only get a taste of that from the Japanese maples in my neighbor’s backyard. It’s my highlight of the Texas autumn. . . the only one. 😦
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These colors are amazing! 🙂
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Beautiful photos! It looks very much like New England in the fall.
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Wow! That orange in almost all the pictures takes my heart away! so pretty autumn is in Japan..
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Amazing pictures Alex! I didn’t like autumn when I was younger. It meant summer was over and school was back in session. But now that I’m all grown up, I appreciate the beauty of the season more!
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Thank you very much, Nike! I feel the same. As a kid, autumn meant I couldn’t swim in the river anymore, and I had rake duties for our front driveway. I hated the raking job, since our driveway was made of broken white shells, and the leaves I had to rake up were pine needles (lots and lots and lots of going over the same space over and over!)… but now a days, I can really appreciate it!
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How are you ever going to be able to photograph autumn leaves again after photographing the very best? I know that there are parts of the States known for there autumn leaves too but these are incredible. Thanks for the experience xx rowena
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I’ll just have to find something new. ☺ I’ve got my eyes on Vancouver’s skyline!
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I haven’t been to Vancouver although my husband stopped over there on his was to…sunny California!! I have some relatives on Vancouver Island who sent me a calendar and there are lots of opportunities there. Seals from memory?
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Beautiful pictures. I have moved to Florida and that is one of the things I miss about Fall the changing leaves.
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