Autumn Color Reports 2016

Today we bring to you the last autumn color report for this year. In a span of almost three months, we covered a total of about 40 reports. We started in Hokkaido in September, moving down to the main island of Honshu... read all

In our final Tokyo 2016 autumn color report, I visited the city to check out the colors at some of the popular gardens. The fall color season is slowly but surely coming to an end judging from the fallen leaves that... read all

The autumn color season might be winding down in much of the country, but there is still time to catch some great colors in some of Japan's late-season spots. While Sam was reporting peak colors in Kamakura today... read all

Sometimes referred to as the Kyoto of Eastern Japan, Kamakura is awash with shrines and temples and is a hugely popular tourist destination, no less because it is situated less than an hour south of Tokyo. The foliage around the many holy sights usually bursts into color around early December, and so I was eager to get down to some of the celebrated sites to see for myself how the autumn colors were looking... read all

The autumn color front has blazed through the Kansai Region this month more rapidly than in past years, leaving much of western Japan nearing the end of its color season. Some late-season autumn color spots in the region... read all

After a sudden fall in temperatures across the country over the last several days, the autumn color season has been in overdrive this week. As Raina and Sam reported yesterday from Tokyo and Kyoto (respectively), the leaves in many of the cities' most popular leaf-watching spots... read all

The last time Joe was in Tokyo, he reported that many of the trees in the places he visited, Mount Takao and Shinjuku Gyoen were at their peak. Today, I headed back into the city just four days after our previous... read all

I've been in western Japan for the past eight days, and today I revisited some of the spots I investigated last week, to see how their colors have progressed. The season as a whole has been quick to progress in Kyoto, as the city has seen some unusually low temperatures in recent weeks. Considering this and the colorful experiences I had here last week, I was eager to get to my spots for the day to see how they were looking... read all

Today I returned to magnificent Kyoto to see how the autumn colors were coming along in a few more choice spots typically popular with visitors at this time of year... read all

This year's autumn colors are now hitting their peak in Japan's big cities like Tokyo and Kyoto as our seasonal coverage continues. While Sam is covering the action in western Japan this week, I headed to Tokyo today to track the season's progress in the nation's capital.... read all

In continuing my coverage of this stunning season in western Japan, today I returned to Kyoto to see how the autumn colors were coming along at a couple of spots that are usually very popular at this time of year... read all

Today I went to check out the autumn colors on one of the jewels of Hiroshima Prefecture said to be one of the three most scenic spots in Japan, Miyajima. The colors here usually peak around mid November, when the leaves burst into color and make this little isle of wonders one of the most popular autumn color viewing spots in western Japan... read all

The last time Joe was in Tokyo, he reported that many of the trees in the places he visited were either at their peak or approaching their best. Today, I headed back into the city six days after our previous Tokyo... read all

Today, I took a journey to Kyoto, one of the country's most popular and spectacular autumn color spots. My travels were concentrated on the east of this city of autumnal delights, as I checked out how the colors were progressing at some of the city's many great autumnal locations. I can report that Kyoto has progressed relatively quickly this year, now well in peak in many spots. This is largely due to the low temperatures that the city has seen over the last three weeks... read all

The Hakone area is blessed with a relatively large height differential from the high to lowlands that permits for a long showing of colors as they leak down the mountain slopes and typically peak around early November... read all

The autumn color season has burst into full force in western Japan, where it annually goes out with a bang in some of the county's most well-loved autumn color hot spots... read all

As this year's autumn color season is finally wrapping up in the north and central mountainous areas of Japan, western Japan and the country's urban coastal areas are now starting to reach their peak color... read all

As we head into mid November, the autumn colors have also reached the cities. The colors in Kyoto and Tokyo have just started changing and they should be at their best about two weeks. In the northern Kanto Region,... read all

In continuing our coverage of this stunning season, today I headed to a little-known gem nestled in the hills of Gunma Prefecture. Sakurayama Park is locally renowned as a great place to catch the autumn colors, with the bonus of being home to multiple species of winter flowering cherry blossoms... read all

With the autumn color season just beginning in some of Japan's most famous autumn color spots, including Kyoto and Tokyo, today I instead went to a slightly more off-the-beaten-path koyo (autumn color) destination... read all

We're now one week into November and as the temperatures continue to get cooler, the autumn colors are also progressing along nicely. Last month we reported mostly from the north and areas in higher elevations, but... read all

Today, I visited Tokyo again two weeks after my last trip. The last time I was here, the colors were barely starting with majority of the trees in the city still sporting green leaves. Today, I am pleased to report... read all

The Fujigoko district consists of the areas surrounding the five lakes at the foot of Mount Fuji and has long been a popular autumn color viewing spot, not least for its serene landscapes, but also because of its proximity to Tokyo. Seeing as this was the first visit to Fuji this year, I was looking forward to observing how the foliage would be... read all

Continuing with our Kansai Region reporting, I heade to Mount Koya to check out the state of colors there. Koyasan is the center of Shingon Buddhism and its founder, Kobo Daishi, is believed to be in eternal... read all

The autumn colors are slowly starting in the cities, and today, I bring you our first report from Kyoto. The fall foliage season has barely begun in Kyoto, and many of the trees I saw in the city were still quite... read all

Adorned with mountains, grasslands, water features and temples, Nikko is a popular destination for travelers from Tokyo during autumn when the elevation differential typically permits for a showing of color throughout the month of October as it sweeps down from the high points of Okunikko to the town below... read all

Dewa Sanzan is an important spiritual area of Japan, being an ancient center of Shugendo mountain worship and a true gem of the Tohoku region... read all

As this year's autumn color front is finishing sweeping down the country's alpine slopes, the lower elevations of Hokkaido and Japan's rugged northern Tohoku Region are now approaching their peak color, and our team is hitting the road to cover the action... read all

A month ago, we started our first autumn color report of the season in Daisetsuzan, Hokkaido. Since then, the season color spectacular has been in full swing in the north and we've covered a number of popular autumn... read all

This year's autumn color season is now well under way, with a flurry of color in the process of sweeping down Japan from north to south and from high to lowlands. In continuing the reporting we've done so far this year, today I took a trip to see how the foliage was doing along the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route... read all

This year's autumn color season is well underway, as the front of changing leaves is slowly moving its way down from Japan's highest peaks to middle elevations around north Honshu's Tohoku Region... read all

With tempatures sharply dropping across Japan, the autumn color season is fully underway in the country's higher mountain areas and northern Japan, where, of course, the Japan Guide team will be... read all

Today, I headed further north to Mount Hakkoda, a set of volcanic peaks in Aomori Prefecture. Like Mount Kurikoma where I was yesterday, Mount Hakkoda is known for its seasonal beauty, and one of the first places in... read all

Three weeks into our autumn color reporting, I headed to Mount Kurikoma, a volcano on the prefectural borders of Iwate, Miyagi and Akita prefectures in the Tohoku Region. The mountain is a popular spot for fall... read all

Oze sees many visitors at this time of year as its autumn colors typically burst into their peak... read all

Located just a couple of hours north of Tokyo, the Nikko area typically starts to see autumn colors in late September to early October; a good month to six weeks before the parks and ginkgo-flanked streets of the capital start to show signs of change... read all

It is that time of the year again when temperatures start cooling down signalling the change from summer to autumn. One of the events that many look forward to, is the changing colors of the leaves, also known as koyo... read all

After yesterday's visit to Mount Asahidake, I spent another day in the Daisetsuzan Mountains and approached the spacious national park from the opposite direction today... read all

Over the next three months, japan-guide.com we will again accompany Japan's autumn colors as they descend from northern Japan's highest mountains... read all