Autumn leaves / 紅葉

So a week after going to Njio to see the Art Aquarium, I went to see the autumn leaves (紅葉）at Toufukuji and Kiyomizudera. During autumn, you can pretty much go anywhere to see the autumn leaves, but it's nice to see temples too, so not why not do both?
I went early in the morning, as I was told that the weekend I was going was actually a long weekend, and so people from all over Japan (and some foreigners too) were swarming to Kyoto that weekend. Despite getting to Toufukuji by around 9:30, it was already getting pretty busy. However, it was totally worth it to see the autumn leaves. For some people, it's not a big deal, but for me, I've never seen this in person before. In Australia, you don't have autumn leaves that turn a nice orange-red colour - they usually just turn brown before falling off the tree. Furthermore, Australia doesn't have temples with significant cultural or historical significance behind them (and I thought us Australians were supposed to be conservative). Anyway, despite the crowds, I was able to get plenty of good views and photos of the autumn leaves and the temples. As Toufukuji was a bit of walk from the station, I was trying various snacks and drinks - After leaving Toufukiji, I had some mitarashi dango, which I had not eaten in a little while (freshly made ones at least), and an interesting ginger drink. Normally I've had ginger drinks warm, so it was an interesting experience to have it cold for a change. Further along the way, I decided to buy some taiyaki from a small vendor.

Later, I made my way to Kiyomizudera, but before going to the temple, I had a look around the shops for souvenirs for the family, and even trying out a lot of samples (分かった、本当にけちけち（笑））. Again, also had some more mitarashi dango, but also went to one stall that I usually go to whenever I'm going to Kiyomizudera to try the Japanese sake flavoured ice cream (日本酒味）, and I also tried okonomiyaki steamed bun for the first time. It was nice, but I still prefer the real thing （笑）.
As expected, by the time I arrived at the temple, it was pretty busy with people trying to get spots wherever possible to get a good view of the autumn leaves. I was able to get a few good spots as well, but I also wanted to get some views of the city too. I was also planning to go to the fountain area and take a drink from there, but compared to the last time that I did it, the line was much longer, and I decided to give it a miss this time.

It was quite a fun and interesting experience, as I never witness this sort of thing in Australia. But now that it's winter here, all the autumn leaves have fallen off the trees. I'm not sure what to expect of winter, as I've not experienced these kind of temperatures before in Australia (オーストラリアだからこそ）. I've already gone though a bit of a fever this past week, but I'll save that story for another post.