Autumn Color Report 2009
by japan-guide.com

This are the official japan-guide.com autumn color reports for 2009 from our trips to various autumn leaf spots across Japan. Check our page on Autumn Leaves for general information.

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2009/11/16 - Mount Takao (Takaosan)


by scott and schauwecker

While trees in central Tokyo have only just started turning colors, the koyo season in the mountains west of Tokyo is already approaching its peak. One of the closest and most attractive mountains near central Tokyo for autumn leaf viewing (but also the most crowded one) is Mount Takao, or Takaosan, only 50 minutes and 370 yen from Shinjuku Station by Keio Railways.

Takaosan can get pretty crowded, especially during the autumn leaf season, and when we arrived around noon, visitors queued 20-25 minutes for riding the cable car or chair lift, which go half way up the mountain. We didn't want to wait, so we opted to walk up instead.

Along the ascent up the mountain we encountered small groups of maple trees, especially around the cable car station, the temple grounds and at the summit. The different varieties of maples are at or approaching their peak, and they look like they will be nice for another two weeks or so.

Takaosan has a network of hiking trails that lead to the summit, and the main road that most people take is paved and leads to all the major sites along the way. We decided to try some of the alternate trails down to avoid some of the crowds and shorten our trip. Other than a few unexpected trail closures, the trails made for a pleasant hike, but they didn't have the same amount of colors as the main road.

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List of Posts:
2009/12/08 - Tokyo
2009/12/02 - Kamakura

2009/11/27 - Tokyo
2009/11/26 - Kyoto
2009/11/25 - Kyoto: Light Up
2009/11/23 - Nara
2009/11/22 - Kyoto: Ohara
2009/11/21 - Kyoto
2009/11/19 - Kyoto: Arashiyama
2009/11/18 - Tokyo
2009/11/18 - Kyoto: Higashiyama
2009/11/16 - Kyoto: Kurama
2009/11/16 - Mount Takao (Takaosan)
2009/11/12 - Kyoto
2009/11/09 - Fuji Five Lakes
2009/11/04 - Hakone

2009/10/28 - Mount Fuji
2009/10/19 - Nikko
2009/10/16 - Onuma Park
2009/10/15 - Noboribetsu Onsen
2009/10/14 - Shikotsu-Toya National Park
2009/10/07 - Hachimantai
2009/10/06 - Mount Akita-Komagatake
2009/10/05 - Nikko

2009/09/30 - Kusatsu Onsen
2009/09/28 - Kamikochi
2009/09/24 - Oze National Park
2009/09/16 - Tokachidake Onsen
2009/09/15 - Ginsendai
2009/09/14 - Mount Asahidake