So I’m living in Tokyo rn for school and I’m missing the American fall vibe🤣 anyone know where to get pumpkin/ fall scented candles in Tokyo? Also if anyone has recommendations for what to do to get the fall feeling here in Japan other than candles😭
Eat the Japanese fall flavors, like chestnuts, persimmons, and sweet potatoes. Get out of town to do some momijigari in November/December. Gingko trees go nice and yellow in later November too. It’ll feel more like fall when the leaves are changing.
If you’re from parts of the US on the east coast and north of, say, Raleigh, NC, just wait a month to six weeks, and it’ll feel like a US October.
Do you have access to a car (rental, friend, etc)? If so, head out the countryside and go apple picking. I live in ibaraki and we have a few orchards here where you can pick your own or just buy from the farm-stand.
17 years in Tokyo here as an American.
Wait about a month or so then go to the countryside.
Nothing but pure fall vibes.
You’ll love it.
I came across this Hokkaido based soy candle brand called north_candles on Instagram. It links to their online shop and they’ve got a lineup of cozy fall scented candles!!
echoing what other people are saying, fall leaves will appear in a month or so. On a weekend you can take a train out to the countryside and see some very beautiful leaves.
I was struck multiple times by a beautiful sweet smell this week! My Tokyo friend said it’s kinmokusei, and I am so enamored with it. My area has multiple such trees, if the smell keeps up I’m sure I’ll reassociate fall with it!
Show up at a department store at 3am the day after Thanksgiving and trample people on your way to getting a new big screen TV for half price.
Go to cafes with seasonal Halloween decorations and menu items and go to other Halloween related events.
If you’re a student in a dorm, they probably have rules against candles. You can still hold it to your nose and sniff it without burning it, I guess. I’d recommend a wax warmer.
Excelsior Cafe has pumpkin spice latte and pumpkin cake. Starbucks has pumpkin spice scones. Costco has pumpkin pies, and if you can’t get there, there’s a Costco resale shop in Shimokitazawa that might have them.
Some supermarkets have actual orange pumpkins you can buy and carve.
Watching Halloween movies always gets me in the spooky mood.
go to starbucks and try the pumpkin spice cheesecake. i had it today and it reminded me of home 🥰
Go for a hike at Mount mitake!
Do try Japanese fall! Appetite Autumn means yummy seasonal foods like a menu full of salmon, chestnut sweets or a fruit platter of persimmon and Japanese pear slices.
At a commercial wholesaler, get cheap cloves & cardamom & cinnamon, and get some ginger slices. You can boil these up in an old pot, or in a new pot if you want to make chai. It’ll make your whole house smell spicy. Plus, you can grind them for pumpkin or kabocha pie.
Other fall activities: a warm sweater and knit cap, then walk through the autumn parks and admire the falling leaves. Get a gourd or two, or even a pumpkin for Halloween. The white kabocha are spooky and “designer”. Use black vinyl tape for the eyes, nose and mouth, then remove for Thanksgiving/general autumn, and finally eat that sweet baby at Christmas or solstice.
Roast a turkey, or even a chicken. Nothing like a good roasted dinner in the fall! Or cream of anything soup. I vote for homemade cream of mushroom with shiitake.
Enjoy!
As an Aussie I read this as “Fall vibes, why do you want to fall over?”.
The realised, ahh Autumn.
Go to Chichibu! Already got fall vibes there last week!!
15 comments
Eat the Japanese fall flavors, like chestnuts, persimmons, and sweet potatoes. Get out of town to do some momijigari in November/December. Gingko trees go nice and yellow in later November too. It’ll feel more like fall when the leaves are changing.
If you’re from parts of the US on the east coast and north of, say, Raleigh, NC, just wait a month to six weeks, and it’ll feel like a US October.
Do you have access to a car (rental, friend, etc)? If so, head out the countryside and go apple picking. I live in ibaraki and we have a few orchards here where you can pick your own or just buy from the farm-stand.
17 years in Tokyo here as an American.
Wait about a month or so then go to the countryside.
Nothing but pure fall vibes.
You’ll love it.
I came across this Hokkaido based soy candle brand called north_candles on Instagram. It links to their online shop and they’ve got a lineup of cozy fall scented candles!!
echoing what other people are saying, fall leaves will appear in a month or so. On a weekend you can take a train out to the countryside and see some very beautiful leaves.
I was struck multiple times by a beautiful sweet smell this week! My Tokyo friend said it’s kinmokusei, and I am so enamored with it. My area has multiple such trees, if the smell keeps up I’m sure I’ll reassociate fall with it!
Show up at a department store at 3am the day after Thanksgiving and trample people on your way to getting a new big screen TV for half price.
Go to cafes with seasonal Halloween decorations and menu items and go to other Halloween related events.
If you’re a student in a dorm, they probably have rules against candles. You can still hold it to your nose and sniff it without burning it, I guess. I’d recommend a wax warmer.
Excelsior Cafe has pumpkin spice latte and pumpkin cake. Starbucks has pumpkin spice scones. Costco has pumpkin pies, and if you can’t get there, there’s a Costco resale shop in Shimokitazawa that might have them.
Some supermarkets have actual orange pumpkins you can buy and carve.
Watching Halloween movies always gets me in the spooky mood.
go to starbucks and try the pumpkin spice cheesecake. i had it today and it reminded me of home 🥰
Go for a hike at Mount mitake!
Do try Japanese fall! Appetite Autumn means yummy seasonal foods like a menu full of salmon, chestnut sweets or a fruit platter of persimmon and Japanese pear slices.
At a commercial wholesaler, get cheap cloves & cardamom & cinnamon, and get some ginger slices. You can boil these up in an old pot, or in a new pot if you want to make chai. It’ll make your whole house smell spicy. Plus, you can grind them for pumpkin or kabocha pie.
Other fall activities: a warm sweater and knit cap, then walk through the autumn parks and admire the falling leaves. Get a gourd or two, or even a pumpkin for Halloween. The white kabocha are spooky and “designer”. Use black vinyl tape for the eyes, nose and mouth, then remove for Thanksgiving/general autumn, and finally eat that sweet baby at Christmas or solstice.
Roast a turkey, or even a chicken. Nothing like a good roasted dinner in the fall! Or cream of anything soup. I vote for homemade cream of mushroom with shiitake.
Enjoy!
As an Aussie I read this as “Fall vibes, why do you want to fall over?”.
The realised, ahh Autumn.
Go to Chichibu! Already got fall vibes there last week!!
https://maps.app.goo.gl/27uzPJoowKZ4Gbs89