One of the things I miss most about Japan is the nature. It doesn't help that this past winter in St. Louis was terrible - easily the coldest and the most snowy in my three years here. But even at its best, the nature in St. Louis is somehow missing something. A large part of it, I think, is cultural - Americans, especially busy college students, simply don't do things like moon-viewing or flower-viewing, celebrations of the fairly everyday but beautiful aspects of nature. But the nature in Kyoto was genuinely awe-inspiring, and incredibly accessible - all I had to do was look around while biking to school. My daily commute took me along part of the Kamo river, with trees lining the banks, people exercising, lounging, and playing music, and of course, ducks floating by happily. After classes I often biked the length of the river before going home for dinner - it was a great way to relax!
I unfortunately missed the cherry blossoms in the spring, but autumn in Kyoto was absolutely stunning. The autumn leaves （紅葉）were a big thing - when the leaves started turning color, the city and all of the famous sites became packed with tourists coming in to see the trees. The excitement was justified too - I might be looking back with rose-colored glasses (ouch, pardon the pun...), but I still think the colors were more vivid than what I've seen in St. Louis.
See, isn't that gorgeous?
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