Autumn in Japan - a sight unlike any other

Winter wonderland is waving, but we still can't get over of the Autumn foliage in Osaka, Japan.

The seasons in our home country - the Philippines are only rainy and dry/sunny, so it's a rare opportunity for us to experience Autumn in a country with four seasons.

Every time I bump into the words '4 seasons', there's a song at the back of my mind singing

♫ Winter, spring, summer, or fall
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there... (Yes I will)
You've got a friend ♫

Please tell me I'm not the only one who relates the seasons to this song - and just a disclaimer, I'm not as old as the song. 😅

What's different this time is that we're traveling with our 2-month old chipmunk Aya-chan. She won't remember this when she grows older, so we took the chance to take decent photos of Aya-chan behind those colorful autumn leaves.

_{Do you know that you can create flowers from autumn leaves? Mommy artistically crafted flowers for me.}

Autumn foliage is all around the streets and parks of Osaka. We saw them as we do our rounds processing the needed documents for Aya-chan's residence status. Finally, we're less busy on the fourth week of November, so we went to the famous landmark of Osaka - Osaka Castle.

It's only 15 minutes via subway from our mansion - not the kind of mansion where Bruce Wayne lives with his butler Alfred. 😂 Mansions here in Japan are typically concrete apartments or condominiums.

The hospital for Sharm's prenatal checkups is near the Osaka Castle so we've been stopping by the place for a number of times. Even during spring and summer, we've already sighted areas within Osaka Castle Park where we can enjoy the autumn leaves, so that by the time autumn comes, we already know where to shoot decent videos and photos. Here are some of the photos taken during spring and summer. Aya-chan was still on her mommy's tummy during this time. I still remember Sharm complaining about her lower back, hips and legs - "It just sores everywhere", as she spoke.

_{Osaka Castle during spring and summer}

It was a Saturday when we finally had the time to enjoy autumn in Japan with Aya-chan on her mommy's carrier. We arrived late in Osaka Castle Park because morning of that day, Aya-chan was a bit fussy. We're only able to take photos from the outskirt of the castle because it's already night time when we reached the castle. I still hear Sharm complaining. This time she's uncomfortable on her stitches down there.

_{Ginkgo leaves near Temmabashi Station}

_{Osaka Castle at night}

The following day (Sunday), we went back to Osaka Castle Park and finally saw red leaves because the other day, instead of red, we only saw pitch-black. 😄 Other than the carnelian red leaves, the ginkgo trees also hold on to their golden-yellow spectacles adding vibrance and life to the neighborhood.

_{The red autumn leaves of Osaka Castle}

_{Ohana under the Ginkgo leaves at the outskirts of Osaka Castle}

Near the castle, there's a maze-like forest. Most of the trees already lose their leaves, but somehow it added character to the path as we traversed the maze. It gave that awry and unusual feeling.

Autumn is indeed a sight unlike any other.