Plump: Picture Lump!

Hotto Yudo station and onsen in Nishiwaga

 It's fall! Or as my European friends would put it, "Autumn." Whatever you call it, it's finally here! The heat has broken and the Japanese are eying the trees waiting for the leaves to peak to their most brilliant.

Will, you got something in your teeth...

 Already, the rice fields are just about empty. Instead of oceans of gold, there are stacks of rice drying in the sun. They look like wicker samurai to me! Standing in strict lines, I imagine them coming to life at night and doing sword drills.

Fall is also when we see the close of the big street festivals. Hanamaki says goodbye to summer with their annual festival of floats and street dancing.

 And of course, Fall is just beautiful for doing what it does naturally.

I woke up like this!