I wanted to show you a picture of the changing autumn leaves this year but there were no brilliant colors, it seemed like the trees skipped autumn this year. Slightly disturbing, hopefully the colors return next year. I know that in Vancouver you don't get the brilliant colors like you do in Japan, how about where you are?
I went shopping for Xmas decorations with some friends a few days ago and noticed something at the mall that was a little surprising and not surprising at the same time. They had a wide selection of "kagami-mochi" and "shimekazari"; traditional Shinto decorations for New Year. With the turn of the new year, Shimekazari can be seen hanging above front doors of peoples houses to ward off evil. For some reason I imagined they were only sold in older shops in the market place, like Osu-Kannon, but to see them at a massive modern Aeon shopping centre was somehow odd. Below is a picture of the decorations.