From Sakai: A refreshing scent of green yuzu fills the air at the “Yuzukaralin Cafe” — A collaboration cafe between SAKAINOMA and Yuzukaralin — SAKAINOMA cafe and hotel Kuma (Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture) will host a special event, Yuzukaralin Cafe, in collaboration with the Kochi Prefecture yuzu-based seasoning brand Yuzukaralin for five days only, from Saturday, January 10 to Wednesday, January 14, 2026. We will offer lunch menus, sweets, and drinks that make the most of the green yuzu’s fragrance, gentle acidity, and the faint spiciness unique to Yuzukaralin. 🔍For more details, search “SAKAINOMA and Yuzukaralin collaboration cafe”! https://sakainoma.jp//

It’s an autumn-clear day over Osaka Bay, with a view from Iwaya Beach on Awaji Island. The blue sea and the distant Mount Rokko haze in blue, and the gentle sound of fishing boats drifts pleasantly across a quiet, peaceful afternoon.

While wandering around Tamba City in Hyogo Prefecture in search of autumn leaves, I came across this late-autumn scene. I bet the birds find it understatedly beautiful too.

Winter haze over the waters off Kobe Airport. A large crane ship looked small in the distance.

Reusing the Portugal Pavilion ropes! Presenting the artwork "Oceano"✨ The Portuguese artist Vanessa Barragan created the artwork Oceano and is exhibiting it together with the ropes from the Portugal Pavilion. The piece was made in Sakai City starting in late October, and its production process was opened to the public in November. Oceano was crafted in Sakai using ropes from the Portugal Pavilion and expresses the sea that connects Portugal and Japan. It will serve as a legacy of exchange between Portugal and Sakai for the future. ○ The sea that connects Portugal and Sakai Inspired by the Portugal Pavilion, ropes are displayed from the ceiling! Two works produced in Sakai City on display! 🗓️ January 6 (Tue)–January 11 (Sun) ⏰ 10:00–17:00 (last admission 16:30) 📍 Higashi Cultural Hall (Hall Building) Gallery 🔍 For details, search "Sakai City Expo Legacy"! https://www.city.sakai.lg.jp/kanko/bunka/art_kanrenjigyo/expo_legacy/SpecialExhibition_Portugal.html...

Tsukuno Station West-Side Illuminations This winter, JR Tsukuno Station brightens up with festive illuminations✨ A large tree, filled with the warm feelings of the local community, lights up the night🎄 Stop by and enjoy the sparkle of the lights❄ 📣Share lovely photos of Nishi Ward’s illuminations and tag Nissy-chan on Instagram!💫 📅Event period: until January 13 (Tuesday) 🕐Lighting hours: 5:00 PM–12:30 AM 📍Location: West side of JR Tsukuno Station (Tsukuno-cho 1-2, Nishi Ward, Sakai City)

Former Hamadera Park Station Building Illumination The Former Hamadera Park Station Building, a nationally registered Tangible Cultural Property, is a precious piece of architecture designated as a national registered Tangible Cultural Property.✨ At night it sparkles with illuminations, making you feel as if you’ve wandered into a storybook world…☺ The event runs through this Friday! Come and see it❄ 📣 For beautiful illumination photos from Nishi Ward, add "#Nissy-chan" and post them on Instagram!💫 📅 Event period: Until Friday, December 26 🕐 Lighting hours: 5:00 PM–12:00 AM 📍 Location: Former Hamadera Park Station Building (2-188 Hamadera Park Town, Nishi Ward, Sakai City)

Nishi Ward Office Illumination The season when Nishi Ward Office is wrapped in light ✨ A 5-meter-tall giant Christmas tree and the cute Nissy-chan welcome everyone 🎄 On chilly nights, enjoy a heartwarming moment under the sparkling illuminations ❄ The display runs until this Friday! Come and see it 🐥 📣 Post your beautiful photos of Nishi Ward’s illuminations on Instagram with “#Nissy-chan” attached! 💫 📅 Period: Until Thursday, December 25 🕐 Lighting hours: 5:00 PM–10:00 PM 📍 Location: Sakai City Nishi Ward Office (600, 6-chome Otorihigashimachi, Nishi Ward, Sakai City)

✨A new spot for freshly made sweets has arrived🍨 Salon de Franchise, a cake shop with 27 years in business, has opened a specialty salon for freshly made sweets in Naka Ward, Sakai City on November 27🍨✨ Desserts and parfaits finished after you order let you enjoy the sound and aroma of baking and the unique textures of just-made treats—a special experience you can only have here. Each dish will make you want to tell someone, “That was delicious.” This new spot is perfect not only for afternoon tea but also for indulgent days or time spent with someone special. Check the menu below if you’re curious👀✨ 📍Salon de Franchise (@salon_de_franchise) 🕒 Hours: 11:00–19:00 (Last order 18:00) ❌ Closed: Tuesdays (open on public holidays) 🚃 Access: An 8-minute walk from Fukai Station on the Nankai Semboku Line; parking available 🔍 Search for “Salon de Franchise” for more details! 🔗 https://www.franchise1998.com// ―――――――――― Year-end and New Year holiday closure December 23 (Tuesday)–January 6 (Tuesday) ※Normal business resumes on Wednesday, January 7 ――――――――――

🔵Collect official pavilion stamps while touring Sakai!🔴 Official stamps from Osaka–Kansai Expo pavilions related to Sakai are now available! Enjoy exploring Sakai as you gather stamps placed at facilities throughout the city. Daisen Park will also host an event on the same days, so please stop by there as well! 🗓️Saturday, December 20; Sunday, December 21; Wednesday, December 24; Thursday, December 25 *Entry may be limited during busy periods 🔍For more details, search for “Sakai Expo Stamps”! https://www.city.sakai.lg.jp/shisei/sonota/banpaku/expo_stamp.html...

✨At Sakai City Tea Room Shin-an, the contemporary artists’ tea utensils used at Sakai’s spring event for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai make an appearance✨ ✨From Saturday, December 20 through Sunday, January 25, 2026, for a limited time, guests who use the tea service at Sakai City Tea Room Shin-an can, if they wish, enjoy matcha served in the contemporary artists’ tea utensils used at Sakai’s spring event for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai✨ (You cannot choose the type of tea utensil, so look forward to a surprise ☺) While reminiscing about Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, savor authentic matcha served in these special tea utensils ☺ Tea service is available from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM✨ One serving 500 yen (with dry confectionery) ☺ 🔍For details, search for “Daisen Park Area: Rediscover the Attractions of the Expo” https://www.city.sakai.lg.jp/kanko/kanko/kohosakaievent/sinan.html...

📣 A program to rediscover the charms of the Expo will be held in the Daisen Park area!✨ At Daisen Park Japanese Garden, we will exhibit works that were displayed or sold at pavilions from 18 countries, including Japan, at the Osaka-Kansai Expo! In addition, contemporary artists’ tea utensils will be used at Sakai City Tea House Shin-an to serve tea in a standing-seated (ryurei) style! 📅 Event period: Saturday, December 20 – Sunday, January 25 🔍 For details, search “Rediscover the Charms of the Expo in the Daisen Park Area”! https://www.city.sakai.lg.jp/.../kohosakaievent/sinan.html... https://www.city.sakai.lg.jp/kanko/kanko/kohosakaievent/sinan.html...

This photo was also taken at Osaka Castle Park. I visited in the morning, and the contrast as dawn broke was beautiful.

Taken from Osaka Castle Park. I snapped the shutter as a crow flew through vivid ginkgo leaves, its black silhouette contrasting beautifully.

A photo taken on the grounds of Kamigamo Shrine in Kyoto. It's nice to look up at the vividly colored trees, but I thought the red maple still looked striking even after the leaves had fallen.

From Wednesday, December 17, receive an original postcard featuring a hot-air balloon and Shin-an at the Sakai City Tea Room, Shin-an. Starting Wednesday, December 17, when you enjoy a tea service at the Sakai City Tea Room, Shin-an, show the Osaka Sakai Balloon reservation QR code or a hot-air balloon ticket receipt and everyone will receive an original “Balloon and Shin-an” postcard. When you visit the Osaka Sakai Balloon hot-air balloon experience, take a relaxing break with a warm bowl of matcha at the Sakai City Tea Room, Shin-an, and pick up a charming postcard. Tea service is available from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Enjoy an authentic bowl of matcha for 500 yen per serving (with dry confectionery).

I couldn't photograph the meteor shower, so I switched to capturing star trails.

Horyuin Temple is close to Higashiyama’s famous autumn foliage sites like Ginkaku-ji Temple, the Philosopher's Path, Anrakuji, and Eikando Temple, yet it sees few tourists; in the early morning you can enjoy quiet moments and even have this painterly gradation of autumn colors all to yourself.

The charm of Horyuin Temple lies in its moss and thatched gate. From the approach, the gradation of autumn colors seen beyond the thatched gate looks like a painting framed by the gate.

The highlight of autumn leaves at Daikakuji is undoubtedly the scenery around Osawa Pond. Around Osawa Pond, Japan’s oldest promenade-style garden, about 700 maple and cherry trees have been planted. At the peak of the fall colors, the pond’s surface becomes a beautiful mirror, vividly reflecting the red and yellow foliage and the vermilion Heart Sutra Pagoda floating on the water. This “water mirror” scene is Daikakuji’s most photogenic sight.

Gionji Temple is famous as a Kyoto spot for autumn leaves not because of the crimson beauty of the trees themselves, but for the way the fallen leaves form a truly red carpet across the moss as they drop.

These photos were not taken this year, but they were shot in the Tenryu-ji Temple Garden in Kyoto. I pressed the shutter because I thought the dragonfly's wings reflected on the railing looked beautiful in the sunlight. It reminds me of the lingering heat and the atmosphere as autumn truly begins to arrive.

I went to a scenic spot in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture to see the Geminids; the peak is today but the forecast was cloudy, so I went shooting yesterday. I saw eight meteors in one hour. I used a wide-angle lens to cover a large area, so the meteors appear small in the photos, but I was able to capture them.

⋆⸜ ⭐️<Daisen Park Japanese Garden> Wa Light Nights ⭐️ ⸝⋆ 【Special Winter Night Opening】💫 On winter nights, a serene and beautiful Japanese garden comes alive, bathed in traditional Japanese light. Leave everyday life behind and spend a warm, glowing moment with someone special ✨😊♡⃛ < Japanese Garden in Daisen Park > 🔶Event Period ・ Saturday, December 20 to Sunday, December 21 ・ Wednesday, December 24 to Thursday, December 25 ・ 5:00 PM–8:00 PM (last admission 7:30 PM) 🔍For details, search “Daisen Park Japanese Garden Special Winter Night Opening”! https://www.daisenteien.jp/event/tw2wj5c1lke1...

⋆⸜❄Sakai Plaza of Rikyu and Akiko Winter Mini Concert❄⸝⋆ Enjoy choir, piano, and string performances in the free zone's Tourist Information Exhibition Room♪🎀 [Same-day events] ※Reservation required ☆ Risho Cafe vol.2 opens in the hall, serving special sweets like chocolates and cakes🍰 ☆ A workshop to make a displayable Christmas handkerchief featuring the "Chasen Tree" pattern will also be held☆🎄 ⭐Sunday, December 14 — 11:00 to 16:00 📍Please come to Sakai Plaza of Rikyu and Akiko ( @rishonomori )♪😊 🔍For details, search "Sakai Plaza of Rikyu and Akiko Concert"! 🔗 https://sakai-rishonomori.com/pages/103?detail=1&b_id=574......

This year, various spots around Sakai City are once again brightened with illuminations✨ This time, we're featuring the illuminations at Sakai Risho-no-Mori! 👀 Don't miss its nighttime appearance♪ 🌟 "Sakai Risho-no-Mori Illuminations" ⛄ 📅 Period: Tuesday, November 18, 2025 – Monday, February 16, 2026 🎄 Lighting hours: 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM 📍 Location: In front of the main entrance of Sakai Risho-no-Mori (2-1-1 Shukuincho-nishi, Sakai-ku, Sakai) 📞 Contact: Sakai Risho-no-Mori (tel: 072-260-4386)

Ichimaiiwa Monolith, a natural monument in Kozagawacho, Wakayama Prefecture, had reached its peak autumn foliage.

The 20th Higashi Fureai Cultural Festival will be held! Two days to enjoy local culture and the arts✨ A packed program including wind band and dance performances, a history lecture titled "Warlords of the Sengoku Era and Their Connections to Sakai", and the Sakai suzume odori (sparrow dance)! There will also be extensive exhibits: flower arrangements, paintings, and works by children to admire🌸 📅 December 14 (Sunday) and 15 (Monday), 10:00–18:00 (exhibits only on the 15th) 📍 Sakai City Higashi Cultural Hall, Cultural Hall (2-minute walk from Kitanoda Station) Free admission! Please come and join us 😊 🔍 For more details, search for "Higashi Fureai Cultural Festival" 🔗https://www.city.sakai.lg.jp/.../r7/20hureaibunkasai.html... #Sakai events #Higashi Fureai Cultural Festival #Sakai City #cultural festival #suzume odori #wind band #dance #art exhibition #art activities https://www.city.sakai.lg.jp/.../r7/20hureaibunkasai.html...

⋆⸜ꕤ🔸[Nishio Meikyuen] Announcement of Goku-Sakai Hojicha Tasting Event 🔸ꕤ⸝⋆ We will hold a tasting event where you can enjoy “Goku-Sakai Hojicha” from Sakai’s renowned shop, Nishio Meikyuen.🍵 Please take this opportunity to savor the rich flavor of “Goku-Sakai Hojicha,” perfected for its roasted aroma and mellow taste.✨ We warmly look forward to seeing you there‼🌈 📅 Date and Time: Sunday, December 7, 1:00 PM–4:00 PM 📍 Location: Sakai Traditional Crafts Museum, 1st floor, TAKUMI SHOP [Traditional Industry and Sakai Products Corner] (@sakaidensan) 🔍 For details, search “Sakai Traditional Crafts Museum hojicha tasting”! 🔗 https://www.sakaidensan.jp/news/425096... https://www.sakaidensan.jp/news/425096...

Nara Palace Site Historical Park Nara Prefecture Nara City Although it has been reconstructed, you can appreciate the vastness of the site. A train runs through the grounds with a level crossing, and the distances between the buildings are impressive. Excavation has finished, and various buildings are currently being rebuilt. The museum exhibits artifacts from the excavations and models showing how the site looked at the time. The parking lot was spacious and free.