Autumn in Nikko

Nikko has long been in the list of places I wanna go to in Japan because it's home to many shrines and heritages plus the leaves turn into gorgeous reds, yellows, and browns come autumn. Spring last year, I was able to go there for a day trip, however I wasn't able to go to a single shrine- I went to Edo Wonderland. Then come autumn that year, I was asked by my good friend Laila to join her and her church friends for a day trip to Nikko for some autumn sightseeing. Alas, I could visit world heritage sites and shrines, I thought. But we didn't.

I'm thankful that we didn't, though. I was able to see more of Nikko as it is, minus the very crowded shrines and the sea of touristsー I was able to see Nikko stripped of my expectations of what it should look like as dictated by the countless photos I've been fed with through years of "research" aka Google ha~

Soooo without further ado, let me share with y'all... NIKKO, a shotgun trip (cos we didn't even have an itinerary, only a car and seven people hungry for adventures *wink*)

Met at and left Shibuya a little after six in the morning, tummies packed with Mcdonald's breakfast meals and leftover dinner. I was excited, geez, I didn't even catch some zzzzzzzzs even if I'm not the designated driver cos how can you be sleepy when throughout the trip you're laughing??? Best road trip mates everrrr, even if most of them I've only met that day!

FIRST STOP: IROHAZAKA WINDING ROAD

SECOND STOP: AKECHIDAIRA PLATEAU, ROPEWAY RIDE, MAGNIFICENT VIEW OF KEGON FALLS

THIRD STOP:  RYUZU FALLS

FOURTH STOP: LAKE CHUZENJI 
(AND A RANDOM PARKING LOT LOL)

PASSED BY SHINKYO BRIDGE 
ON OUR WAY TO THE NEXT DESTINATION

FIFTH STOP: KINUTATEIWA OTSURIBASHI 
SUSPENSION BRIDGE

SIXTH STOP: RYUOKYO GORGE, NIJIMINOTAKI FALLS

 Wew! That was pretty long for a day trip, I know! I was so tired and hungry as we drove our way back to Tokyo (I may or may not have slept through the whole trip back lol) but it was one helluva great day! The pictures were just taken by random phone cameras so it might not give that much justice as to how beautiful the places we went were... so I suggest go and find out these gems for yourselves if you haven't yet! *wink*

Au revoir, autumn!

Boots.

Comfy  sweaters.
Long socks.
Knit scarves.

Coffee and cocoa.

Clear skies.
Crisp air.

Pretty leaves. 

Scarlet, saffron, and russet.

Blankets and cuddles.

Pumpkins.

Flushed cheeks.

♡♡♡

Ahhhh~ I could rave about autumn on and on for hours and I still would not even have touched the tip of the iceberg! 

I have lived in the Philippines almost my entire life so I am used to summer all year round. But since I moved to Japan two years ago, I came to appreciate the autumn season... oh scratch that, I fell in love with it! Don't get me wrong, I love summer, too- I love ice cream, the salty air, the sun, the beach! But autumn has this magic that I could not deny. Everywhere I look, I see beauty. Who would have thought that "glorious" and "beautiful" could be used alongside "death" and "fall" in a sentence? Oh, autumn! ♡

Now that the Ginkgo and Momiji trees (and technically other deciduous trees) are shedding their final leaves, I'm starting to feel some sort of autumn separation anxiety, if there is such a thing haha! 

Here are some photos I took here and there; an attempt to vividly remember my autumn affair by.

*photodump alert*

Enjoy! :-)

Mt. Takao Beer Garden

Monkey Park, Mt. Takao

(Photo taken by my beau, Kenji)

 When you see it...♡

Shinjuku Gyoen

 Docomo Tower as seen from the confines of Shinjuku Gyoen

Green or red? Even plants seem to get "confused", too haha!

Shinjuku Gyoen

Ombre~

Shinjuku Gyoen

Lovely window view, Tengachaya

Ahhhh~

Musashino Place Library, Musashino City

Ginkgo trees, Kyonan Fureai Hiroba Park

One gloomy Monday morning, Sakurashinmachi Park

The same tree as that in the photo above. This was what has become of it a few days later. 

Walking along the streets of Wakaba Cho resulted to a shoefie haha! Gorgeous leaves, everywhere~

A random Wakaba Cho street

 Autumn bed ahhh~

Such a gem in our neighbourhood!

 Some momijis, still somewhere in Wakaba Cho

And moooore~

I have so so soooo much love for this season! But if there is one thing I really love about autumn, that  is the very moment when the leaves fall on the ground with the cool breeze as the background, as if telling me, "Oh, just fall and float freely like the leaves. Let the wind take you to where you should be. No worries, child."

Ending this photodump with a clip I recorded during one of my autumn travels in the countryside for more autumn feels~

I hope you all enjoyed autumn as much as I did! 

'Til we meet again, autumn! ♡