Sweet scents of autumn

Recently on social media, I noticed a lot of newcomers marveling at the heady scent they noticed wafting through their windows in October. The source is osmanthus fragrans, the fragrant olive. This flower, known in Japan as 金木犀, kinmokusei, blooms for a few weeks and perfumes the air with a fruity and herbal scent. The flowers are tiny golden bunches of orbs that grow on shrubs that can reach two or three meters in height.

While it's a lovely fragrance, you might be surprised to encounter older Japanese people who associate the scent with toilet fresheners! It used to be the most popular scent for masking malodorous loos before toilet technology improved.

But don't let that put you off. Some fragrance lines include the fragrance in their formulations. I discovered one unctuous cream that wraps you in the aroma any time.