Welcome to issue #2 of Everyday Journeys by Norbert Woehnl, your friendly photography newsletter from Japan!

Here in the Tokyo area, autumn colors have started to appear, and in some areas are on the cusp of reaching their peak. Overall, November 2025 has been slightly chillier than average, so the foliage is turning a couple days earlier than in previous years. Overall, I guess autumn is my favorite season here - not least due to the feeling of finally being able to catch fresh breaths of air after yet another grueling summer that went into history books as the hottest on record in Japan so far.

A selection of recent posts from my website

• In my previous newsletter issue, I had mentioned Japanese autumn foods. Here is an example of a seasonal snack tray during leaf viewing at Eikando Zenrinji Temple in Kyoto (posted 2025-11-14).
• A recent Sunday walk through the Chiyoda Ward of Tokyo provided ample subject matter for panoramic photography, including delightful dashes of autumn color (posted 2025-11-24).
• A striking example of the vivid autumn colors of Japanese maple leaves at Zojoji Temple in Tokyo. The fact that the photo was shot on film makes the colors pop even more (posted 2025-11-17).
• Autumn colors are uniquely beautiful in the Canadian Rockies, too. Here is an example from Lake Agnes in Banff National Park (posted 2025-11-18).
• Last year, my wife and I visited Helsinki for the first time. After a 12-hours flight, we arrived there at 5 AM local time. Memories of that long first day in Finland are kind of fuzzy, but one thing I remember is that we went to Cafe Engel, where we had a pleasant meal of meatballs with mashed potatoes and lingonberries (posted 2025-11-19).
• A different way to visualize dusk in Kyoto's famous Gion district is by holding the camera above the cobblestone pavement, and throwing a variety of light sources out of focus (posted 2025-11-21).

Evergreen content from my website

• Every year in October, the Festival of Bizen Pottery is held in the small town of Imbe in the former Bizen province, now part of Okayama Prefecture, Japan. Bizenware (備前焼, Bizen-yaki) is a type of Japanese pottery most identifiable by its iron-like hardness, reddish brown color, absence of glaze, and markings resulting from wood-burning kiln firing. It is Japan’s oldest pottery making technique, introduced in the Heian period (794-1185). Because of the clay composition, Bizen wares are fired slowly over a long period of time. Firings take place only once or twice a year, requiring the wood fire to be kept burning for 10-14 days at a temperature of about 1,300°C (posted 2021-10-13).

That's all for this issue. Thank you for being a reader, and see you next time! If you'd like to get in touch, just reply to this email.

Best wishes from Tokyo -
Norbert