Japan National Tourism Organization

Depending on where you are in the country, October can bring cooler weather, beautiful autumn foliage, harvest festivals, outdoor adventures, and seasonal food.

The Japan National Tourism Organization describes October as a great time for autumn hikes, cultural activities, harvest events, and enjoying the changing leaves, particularly in northern and higher altitude areas.

And the food is worth mentioning.

Seasonal favorites include Japanese pears, persimmons, rice, and soba noodles.

Tokyo's Haneda Airport was ranked the sixth best in the world, with Singapore's Changi Airport taking the top place.

In the news, released Wednesday, the Japan National Tourism Organization said Japan's strong showing reflected not only the appeal of its tourism resources, but also qualities distinctive to Japan, such as its hospitality and safety.

We hope that this continued international recognition will generate even greater interest in Japan and encourage more people to visit, the organization wrote.

Condé Nast Traveler readers cast 798,867 votes in this year's awards, the magazine's 39th edition.

Yeah, absolutely.

So I'm out of the Los Angeles office of the Japan National Tourism Organization, and, uh, we're there to, you know, disseminate information about Japan to help travelers, help tour operators, um, really bring a lot of, you know, new interest to the country.

Uh, and my role specifically, I work with the adventure travel segment of the market, which is a really, really fun part of the industry to be in.

Uh, and I also handle a lot of our media relations and, uh, social media as well as meetings and incentives, which it's kind of just all over the place what I do, but, um, anything that can help.

The number continued growing until the scarecrows overwhelmingly outnumbered the people around them.

The Japan National Tourism Organization now describes more than 350 figures living alongside roughly 30 human residents.

Although the number of scarecrows Ayano has actually made over the years is higher because those left outdoors eventually deteriorate and have to be repaired or be replaced.

Many of the figures also have identities.