- Dig up the old camcorder for Sports day festivals at schools
- Bring along a book for reading at your favorite outdoor spot as the temperature cools to bearable
- Picking, roasting, and eating “kuri,” or chestnuts. Recipe for “kuri gohan”
- Tsukimi (moon-viewing), Tsukimi dango (rice cake) to eat while “celebrating the beauty of the moon”
- Grill sanma (saury/mackerel pike) over an open flame BBQ
- Visit Kyoto to enjoy the changing autumn leaves. Or, see “Kouyou” in Tokyo and Nagoya
- Spend a little extra on the ever-popular matsutake mushrooms
- Head back to the countryside and help out with the rice harvest
- Pack tents for one last camping trip before winter comes
- Build up stock for the annual exchange of persimmons, mikan, and sweet potatoes
