Still feeling like I have just arrived from a long internship, I try to absorb current fact in Kyoto: I am back, I live with Rizky, I will explore Japan again, and I will meet my friends here, soon! Wait - which friends?

To think again, most of my closest friends are gone already - they were back to Indonesia, finishing their study, or pursuing their career. My Japanese friends are the same case - they are away from Kyoto, working as a salaryman in the busy capital of Japan. I am not saying there are no friends here, it's just that, it doesn't feel the same, being with the closest one and being with the new one.

Other than the aforementioned fact that makes me mellow every once in a while, I actually feel really grateful to be back to Kyoto, and here's why.

Having Kamogawa beside me


If there's any place I love the most in Kyoto, it is Kamogawa (Kamo River). The quiet, still, and enchanting river in the heart of Kyoto. My favorite time in Kamogawa is in the late afternoon when the sunshine falls to the half of the riverbank. I can walk, cycling, sit down reading, or watching people around. Kamogawa is just a perfect place for a melancholic me.

Having a very appreciative and supportive husband


To be honest, when I decided to marry, I was still unsure whether I can be a good wife. I have a stupid ego, random mood, and I am not good at cooking - especially because I and Rizky have a different preference. I like green and clean food, Rizky hates vegetables and loves a spicy-oily menu. The only thing I am good at is baking, but I cannot feed my husband with cakes 7 days a week, isn't it? So I did experiments of cooking basics Indonesian food, which I magically nailed. Even though I know my cook hasn't reached the top score of 100 in terms of deliciousness, but Rizky ate them all. He said it was delicious, then mentioning how happy he is to have a wife who is a good cook. Hearing that feels like everything to me.

And there are actually lots of other things I should be grateful to have him as my husband, I might write one post dedicated to him one day (he is dancing already when he knows I write one paragraph about him just now).

Having my third autumn in Japan

Photo: Rizky Ramadhan

Living in the city that is one of the best autumn spots in the world is one of the perks of living in Kyoto. Fall is my favorite season ever, because, it's just perfect. It has a nice breezy cool weather, it is the season of apple and cinnamon (combined, it creates my favorite dessert ever), and it has so many colors that I just fall in love with. It is the season of photo hunting. The first year, I went to temples. The second year, I went to parks. This year, I am going to explore hidden places - somewhere near or somewhere far, not yet decided. After all these years, I can never get enough of the mix of red, yellow, orange, and green that autumn brought to earth.






The autumn photos wrap up today's post. Coming back to this city is not bad at all afterall. Hopefully stay for another year will be a great experience with (lots of) chance to travel to new places!

Cheers,