A Pretty A Day: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I'm back from a week in Tokyo with some of the brood, and besides the usual fun, we were glad to catch the colours of autumn in their full glory! The streets were lined with leaves of gold and red, and the national parks put on their best show... The weather was amazing the whole trip, too! The air was crisp and we weren't too chilly ;)

One of my favourite stops was the Showa Kinen Koen, a great park that's so huge, you couldn't walk the ends of it in just one afternoon! The momiji (Japanese maple) were at their prettiest, and we walked the popular row of 100 ginko trees, just in time to catch them gold and lovely in the early setting sun.

Autumn colours have a special place in my heart!

Everyone was thrilled at the beautiful change of colours... and photos must be had...

One or two... or fifteen... or let's make that thirty for the family album! Hehehe... you know I love photographs!

Some days the weather was so perfect, we had picnics in the parks... There's a pretty one just near the Ghibli museum, which we loved so much in January that we just had to go a second time, this time with Nick, a fan of Studio Ghibli and all things animation... He was impressed and you know we'll be back, maybe with their papa Alfred!

We were impressed with Nick's natural rowing skills when we rented some rowboats at a lake... the boy's a natural! Mel floundered for a little, with me laughing in her boat, before getting the hang of it with Nick's instruction! That funny boy always amuses me... I'm guessing this particular skill comes from his childhood penchant for reading all things "gentlemanly"... I think we even got him the "Gentleman's Guide To Life" for Christmas one year... Well, it's paying off! He still carries a handkerchief ("Pocket square, if you will, mother.") everywhere he goes, and is ever the gallant boy.

I'm betting that "How to row a boat" was in that book...

I had a good laugh with Mel before she finally got us going!

"Figure it out, girl!" I was laughing...

"I'm trying!" she said, desperate between giggles!

"Look at what Nick is doing way over on the other side!"

"Oh, Mom!"

"You don't know how to row a boat!"

"Want to take over?"

When she finally worked her way closer to the other three, I was out of breath from laughing so much!

We spent a good hour on this beautiful lake... and why not! The ducks soon gathered round for a good look at their temporary neighbours...

And Mimi, being Mimi, decided to hold a little "fashion shoot on water"...

Alright, work it babe!

Once that was over, she clambered into our boat, almost tipping us over, and decided to try to take over the rowing...

After a good five minutes of floundering, I proposed a race to the dock, our boat against the boys!

And the girls decided to each take an oar and see if that would lessen the load... of course making things worse.

Nick paused for some photos of Ben... clearly relaxed and confident of being in the lead.

Oh well, the girls did try!

A great, great afternoon in the park, if I may say so myself!

Mimi went wild at the row of 100 ginko trees...

And we painted the town red every night! Why not, when you're in a city like tokyo!

From Shibuya to Harajuku's popular Takeshita Dori... to little ramen shops in little alleys... this city has too much to offer for night owls like us!

It was a Kodak moment at every turn!

What can I say... you can almost feel winter coming on, and the Christmas fairy lights are already up in the hotel lobbies and along the streets...

So...

It's beginning...

... beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We always say it but it's the truth! It's never too early for a little Christmas cheer!

And from the equator looking out, it sure is nice to see the seasonal changes!

What do you think? Let it snow let it snow let it snow!

Perhaps next week, in Seoul!

It sure was a whirlwind of a trip but fun and joy was had by all! Ben was glad to catch the weather at its best, too! He was rather worried about the autumn chill, but when the temperatures dipped late at night -- and boy, sure did they dip! -- it was always a joy to return to cosy hotel rooms and put our feet up with a drink or two :)