Halloween and Wintumn

Another Halloween has come and gone, and another year of proving how little I care about spending money on a quality costume. This year I was a panda. :)

It took about 10 minutes to tape a piece of white felt to my black winter pyjamas (note for Michael: ROOMWEAR), and cost about 900 yen ($9.00) to buy a panda hat. I thought it was a job well done. So did my friend Hidemasa when he saw it - I could tell from his laughter. And, clad in my quality panda outfit, I paraded around Nagano City holding up a sign boasting the name of our school. What a wonderful way to advertise.

Of course, this was a part of our work halloween party for the kids, and this parade was all about showing off to the public our costumes and halloween culture. Tragically, this assumes that I care both about my costume and halloween culture. It was, however, a fun day - as our kid events always are.

Hidemasa and his daughter, Haruka
So with winter now slowly creeping its way down the mountain peaks and eventually to my doorstep, I jumped on a bus destined for a place called Kamikochi, up in the mountains, in the hope of catching the last colourful breath of autumn. As the bus wound its snake-like way between peaks, I witnessed some of the most vivid, breathtaking scenery I've ever seen - and it was only to get better. Kamikochi is widely considered one of Japan's most beautiful places, and is so pristine that cars aren't allowed anywhere near: you have to park your car further down the mountain, then catch a 15-minute bus or taxi the rest of the way. Well, at least for me, that wasn't an issue.

What I found in Kamikochi wasn't the magnificient autumnal colours I'd been expecting. Instead I found myself gazing at a new season, some kind of hybrid, with the oranges and yellows of autumn, and the leafless, lonely trees of winter. It seems I'd just missed the peak viewing season, and already winter was making its muddy mark. It was perhaps a little disappointing at first, but it was so peaceful and mysterious that I realised it didn't matter: Kamikochi was still beautiful. Clouds swirled overhead, and it wasn't long before they emptied their cold, heavy rains everywhere, forcing my friends and I to retreat into a nearby cafe for a steaming hot mug of coffee.

So in the end the day was a bit of a wash-out, but a fun experience nevertheless. Everyone's talking about how we're in for a particularly cold winter. It's amazing how we can have the hottest summer on record and still be in for a tough winter. Well, as long as I can find someplace warm where I can slurp on a hot drink and relax, that suits me just fine.