Tokyo: Peak Colors

Following on from Cassie's report from Kamakura which found the city's autumn colors right at their peak, I today found myself in Tokyo to check on the progress of the fall leaves at three of its best known viewing spots. Here, I found things had progressed quite quickly since last week's Tokyo report.

My impression at all three sites was of colors finally having reached their peak, with the picture somewhat complicated by maples, many of which were not quite at their most vibrant hues yet. Overall, I would expect the peak of the season in Tokyo to continue for at least another week and some of the maple tree groves to remain colorful into the second half of December.

My first stop of the day was at Rikugien - one of the city's best loved traditional landscape gardens, with a series of wooded groves surrounding a large central pond. While the trees and shrubs around the pond were generally near or at their peak, the sheltered grove of maple trees lining a stream to the rear of the garden still had a way to go, with many branches still showing lots of green. While I expect the trees around the central pond to have quite faded in a week's time, the maple grove will likely reach its peak only around mid-December.

The garden will stay open for nighttime autumn leaf viewing with special illuminations from 18:00 until 20:30 until December 4.

After Rikugien, my next visit was to the well-known boulevard between Aoyama-Itchome and Gaienmae stations, where twin rows of beautifully shaped ginkgo trees ignite into intense yellow colors at the peak of the season. Approaching from the Aoyama side, my first thought was that the two outer rows were still looking surprisingly green - my impression changed as I made my way along the avenue however, with the overall picture looking just within the peak window.

Making my way along the avenue, things looked a bit more sparse towards the middle where some of the trees were already looking a bit skeletal, and even light gusts of wind sent fan-shaped ginkgo leaves spiralling to the ground. The most satisfying views were to be found at the opposite end, where the trees still sported a thick coat of bright, golden leaves.

Of the three spots I visited, this was by far the busiest, with the colors looking to continue into next week.

I rounded off my time in Tokyo with a final visit to Hama Rikyu - another historic landscape garden, located on the shore of Tokyo Bay. Although less famous for its autumn leaves than other parks and gardens in the city, it does contain a few pockets of seasonal color, particularly around the Shiori no Ike pond. Here, I found a few maple trees around their peak colors while elsewhere the majority had already faded to muted purples and browns.

With just a few exceptions - one being a big, beautiful maple tree directly across from the Nakajima Teahouse - the garden overall appeared a little past its best, but will still be worth a look for a few late flashes of red lasting at least into next week.