The koyo season in Japan is leaf-peeping heaven. The weather is often pleasant at the tail end of typhoon season, the crowds are easier to escape than during cherry blossom, and JapanMan knows a hundred spots that you might even get all to yourself.
One of my first and most powerful memories of koyo is Nikko, 2-3 hours north of Tokyo. The famously ornate Yomeimon gate and mausoleum of the Tokugawa Shoguns are ensconced in a forest of momiji maple leaves by November, and a simple way to escape the crowds is to take the forest paths up and around the dell and look down upon the madding crowd.
Thirty minutes away by super scenic switchback road is pristine Chuzenji lake plateau and its three waterfalls emblazoned by autumn leaves (see photo above). Don’t expect to escape the crowds at these snap-happy hotspots, but go a little further to the boardwalks of Senjogahara marshlands and there’s a fraction of the people.
Takayama in the Japan Alps is a well-visited location, but there’s ways of doing it. JapanMan recommends the route from Tokyo via Matsumoto, as the second half is a winding mountain ride with stunning autumn leaves against the snowy backdrop in November. Once in Takayama, there’s a particular route I discovered that goes through woodlands, past tiny temples and through sleepy leafy local streets which I had almost to myself.
I hope this has whet your whistle for an autumn adventure in Japan – it’s particularly good for second-timers who have done the Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka-Hiroshima golden route and are looking to spread their wings.
JapanMan 