Gone are the hot and sweltering days and in with the cooler weather. It’s nice to finally be able to step outside and not immediately be drenched in sweat. During the first part of autumn I was able to visit Vietnam for a bit and even there I couldn’t detach myself from the world of tea. Matcha has also taken over Vietnam and every cafe has some type of matcha on their menu. Of course me being me, I had to try a couple for research purposes as always. However, Vietnam also produces their own teas so I was able to visit a shop in Hanoi with one of the previous interns, Mai. Here we were able to be transported away from the bustling streets of Vietnam and into a more tranquil environment while sipping on some Vietnamese teas.
Coming back into the month of October, we had two very special birthdays this month: Akky-san’s and Hiro-san’s. That being said, I once again put on my thinking cap thinking about what new flavors I can put together in a cake. I so happened to come across some shine muscat on one of my days out and decided it would be a good opportunity to make a simple muscat cake with vanilla layers. Shine muscat is normally way more expensive back in the States and with them being in season here, I just had to make a cake with them at least once during this lifetime. Moving along to a more creative direction, it was also the ending of fig season so I also picked up some figs, made a jam with a few of them, and decided to pair it with a hojicha sponge. With everyone together, we were able to celebrate their milestone birthdays.
While we’re on the topic of food, something fun I got to during this period was create some bento boxes for hiking tours. Besides baking, I do enjoy cooking so it was nice that I was given this opportunity.
As the days moved on, the autumn harvest was finally upon us. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to participate in any harvest days, but I was able to have a couple of trimming days, which was still nice to just be able to be out in the fields again. One of the trimming days took place on the Okumidori section of Monzen and it was really a full circle moment for me because that was where I got to harvest on my birthday during spring and to be able to come back and trim for one of my final sessions of the year was special in its own way.
One memorable recurring event during these couple of months were the board game nights. One of our lovely autumn interns, Mariah, brought us into her world of board games. Here we all sat around the table learning how to play new games while having valid(?) crashouts throughout.
And let’s not forget, the fall foliage. The season that I was looking forward most to had finally arrived. Of the 4 seasons, this was the only season that I had yet to experience and seeing the fall foliage was something I had been dreaming about for so long. Needless to say, once it was here, it did not disappoint. Even though at the end of the day, they’re all just the same trees and leaves, I was always just in awe at how beautiful the colors were. I can’t even begin to tell you how many photos I have in my camera roll of just the trees and leaves changing colors. On an extremely rare weekend where Marilena, Nicole, Mia, and I all had a day off together, we along with Mac (previous AM and intern also) went to check out the Murou Art Forest in Nara. Here we got to enjoy the fall foliage while interacting with unique architecture.
So here we are, at the end of it all, my last blog as an AM. It’s been a crazy adventure filled with many great memories, but it’s never a goodbye here, but always “またね”.