| Start: | Sep 14, '10 |
| End: | Nov 30, '10 |
| Location: | Japan |
Colorful leaves (koyo) are to the Japanese autumn what cherry blossoms are to spring.
Starting in mid September, the "koyo front" slowly moves southwards from the northern island of Hokkaido until it reaches the lower elevations of central and southern Japan towards the end of November.
Some trees around Tokyo and Kyoto remain colorful into early December.
Note to self:
Look especially for maple tree! This goes through a minor spectrum of oranges and yellows before culminating in a fiery red....
Some of the best spots in Tokyo -
ReplyDeleteUeno-koen - popular not only for cherry blossoms time (hanami) but also for the autumn foliage
Kitanomaru-koen - north of the Imperial Palace - wonderful for picnics or just a stroll...
Kishikawa Korakuen - a scenic pond and gardens, probably Tokyo's best foliage spot
Shinjuku-gyoen - also a western style garden hereabouts
Yoyogi-koen - aside from cherry trees, there's ginkgo and zelvoka (hmm..what is that tree?)
Yasukuni-jinja - tree lined walkway...
Koishikawa Korakuen is a 5-10 minute walk from Iidabashi Station (various JR and subway lines) or a 10 minute walk from Korakuen Station on the Marunouchi and Nanboku Subway Lines.
ReplyDeleteHours: 9:00 to 17:00 (entry until 16:30)
Closed: December 29 to January 1
Admission: 300 yen
Aiming for Mt. Takao if all goes well \(^_^)/
ReplyDeletePutting these here for reference -
Keio Railways offer the cheapest and fastest connections to Takaosan.
Direct semi-limited express trains, which take about 50 minutes and 370 yen, leave the underground Keio Shinjuku station every 20 minutes. Takaosanguchi Station, the train's terminal station, is located at the foot of the mountain.
The JR alternative is by Chuo Line from Shinjuku to Takao Station (540 yen, about 50 minutes), where you transfer to the Keio Line and ride one more station to Takaosanguchi Station (120 yen, 2 minutes).
Mount Shosha in Himeji is a very good example because the higher you climb the greater the change.
ReplyDeletechecklist from sources recommendations - around Tokyo area -
ReplyDelete* Mount Takao - a day trip worth taking at any time of year, Mount Takao is a great place to see the Japan Autumn colors if you don't want to do an overnight stay. (thanks to John and Ted!)
* Kamakura - the old capital of Japan, famous for its Daibutsu (big buddha), is also a day trip away although staying overnight is a good idea. To do this in just one day is a pretty full on schedule!
* Hakone and Mount Fuji - Stay overnight in a traditional ryokan, soak in an onsen, and enjoy the views of Fuji. Gorgeousnesssss!
* Fuji Five Lakes - the whole area around Mount Fuji is known as Fuji Five Lakes. Besides Hakone there are areas such as Kawaguchiko with similar onsen and ryokan settings.
* Nikko - to the north of Tokyo and the resting place of Tokugawa Ieyasu is another perfect setting to catch your reds, golds, and oranges of fall. Another overnight stay candidate...
* Karuizawa - another overnight stay. Karuizawa has a very traditional feel to it with Japanese maples and countryside views all around.
*overcome with delight at the pictures seen*
hmm..maybe I can still pop over there :-) thanks John!
ReplyDeletehmm...*imagines this in November*
ReplyDeleteargh...if only I could afford 3 weeks off...
Yes, it obviously gets better later, I can't remember the exact date of my visit. I do however remember very well the visit because my good friend Riesan had to go to a Semanarium in Kobe so I was taken there by her mother and another elderly lady, neither could speak English so other visitors had a few amusing moments watching us as we tried to communicate with body language and much hand waving with my limited Japanese.
ReplyDeleteLOL.
Yes, 3 or 4 weeks is the best.
*grins in sympathy when remembering my Beijing resto experience with animal sounds*
ReplyDeleteI think our "Viewing audiance" may heve thought that we were practising for some new "Disco dance"
ReplyDeleteIf I'd been there, I'd try beating the drum and giving you Noh masks...hehehe...
ReplyDeletepeace John!
so are we there yet?
ReplyDeletesa daming magandang puntahan...how will you decide to narrow the choices?
argh...don't remind me po..am like a madwoman with my excel sheet in my itinerary planning...*throws up bits of paper into air*
ReplyDeletei can imagine...maybe if you decide to go on a straight line or direction, and whatever interesting place/festival it passes thru...that may narrow your choice.
ReplyDeleteactually nandyan na talaga Nikko, Mt. Takao, Hakone and Kamakura :-)
ReplyDeletethe others are medyo isipin pa if kaya sa budget (am cross-checking looking for cheaper accommodations at the resorts during weekends)
oh yes of course the budget...that should be 1st consideration...very exciting Cat!
ReplyDeleteJust had a look at Takaosan as I've never been there. I see they say that it is only really interesting for people with a JR Pass.
ReplyDeleteHugs.
yes, its exciting with different mixes of planning..hehehe..I hope it does push through *cross fingers and toes*
ReplyDeletewell the Keio railways are said to offer cheaper and faster than JR ..though its a few minutes diff...
ReplyDeleteAcc to the net - "Due to its proximity to central Tokyo, Takaosan can get very crowded on weekends and during the second half of November, when the mountain becomes one of Tokyo's most popular koyo (autumn foliage) spots. "
"A network of numbered and well marked hiking trails, ranging from the broad and paved hiking trail number 1 to narrow nature trails, lead up the slopes and through the valleys of Takaosan. The peak is 599 meters over sea level and offers views of Tokyo, Mount Fuji and as far as Yokohama on clear days. There is a cablecar and chair lift leading half up the mountain. "
I suppose a spot of hiking brings some "athletic" aspect of visiting this place to my trip... hehehe
*gets winded after climbing 2 short flights of stairs*
With a JR Pass it is free so this must be cheaper in the long run., though depending a little to how often you use it during the valid days.
ReplyDeleteYes, Hiking gives an appetite for lots of lovely food.
oh no...I have to stay away from expensive restos while in Japan.....*torture for poor me*
ReplyDeleteI suppose I will have ramen diet...LOL
I hardly ever visit "Expensive" ones, the small back street ones are often much better and certainly more suited to the ecconomistic pocket. In fact the Expensive ones normally get used once when friends wish to give me a welcome dinner.
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong with Raman, Soba or Odon, nor with Okonomiyaki, for snaks a Yakkartori bar is fine.
Hugs.
yay! its super filling!
ReplyDeleteI wonder which is better though, the Osaka ones or the Hiroshima ones....
(and as usual with my posts, it seques somewhere to food talk*
yay! its super filling!
ReplyDeleteI wonder which is better though, the Osaka ones or the Hiroshima ones....
(and as usual with my posts, it seques somewhere to food talk*
I'd say that the Hiroshima ones are the best, I'm biased as I first tried it here, as this dish is now available all over Japan some local versions may be better, Ive seen several different ways of making it in Nagoya, Osaka and Himeji.
ReplyDeleteHugs.
that last statement John, makes me want to go to the little Tokyo group of restaurants tomrw to be able to eat okonomiyaki again :-)
ReplyDeleteGood idea. BTW most small restaurants serve a Lunch/Dinner with beer or whatever for less than Y1000, not expensive by any means.
ReplyDeletethats manageable for me...last visit I did, it was only in Kyoto that I tried my luck with an establishment by myself...
ReplyDeletemy problem is I might enter a restaurant and find out *gasps* that I need to wash dishes afterwards as payment for my meal coz I can't afford it...mwahaha!
seriously though, I do look forward to smaller restaurants but I hope for not too adventurous seafoods to try out :-)
I always alternated between food types, sea food being high on my list appart from Sushi, there were always many to choose from among the small back street restaurants so it should not be a problem for you. Most of these also have a price board outside so washing Japanese dishes should not happen.
ReplyDeleteHugs.
should it happen, I will make sure to get a pic of me loading the dishwasher...LOL
ReplyDelete*well, am thinking they are so hi-tech, maybe there's no handwashing of dishes anymore*
I just realized something...I don't even know how to operate coin-operated laundry machines......though *racks brain* I did try the swipe-thingie machine while in a NYC apartment's basement...
ReplyDeleteok, because here in the Philippines, most of the people just go and dump their stuff at the laundromat...then their clothes comes back washed and folded (spoiled talaga tayo!)...this is one thing one of my programmers who is now living in the US has been missing hehehe...
any blowfish experience?
ReplyDeleteNo Cat, I've never tried it. I believe it is a very expensive dish, appart from that you'd need to find a restaurant licenced to serve it.
ReplyDeletefunny thing that blowfish...
ReplyDeleteif am not getting my fishes mixed up, that dish is also actually served here in the Philippines, but not raw...I think my mom mentioned that its cooked here (something is taken out of its body though etc. and its prepared also carefully or at least I hope its prepared carefully)....
Yes, it is highly poisonous. In Japan chefs have to get special training in order to be permitted to prepare and serve it.
ReplyDelete.....imagine if one gets sued if the customer who ate his prepared blowfish dies *cringes*
ReplyDeletewarning, many, many people now in Kyoto due to autumn...
ReplyDeletetips - Nikko now has more red leaves than what I saw in Kyoto -
but...starting Nov 17, they will do their "lighting" up certain sections of Kyoto which would be wonderful to look at at night (hay, pauwi na kc ako..huhuhu)....
also very good autumn views on trip from Kanazawa to Takayama - mountains filled from top to bottom with autumn scenery...
its getting colder and now and last week nag-snow na daw sa Northern Japan...
That's the way it goes. I was told yesterday that it is now cold in Himeji, and a suprise, a friend in Thailand expects snow already so has been busy photographing beautiful green things.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
you mean some plants have been popping out inspite of the snow?
ReplyDeleteNo, she wanted to photograph those that had done before the snow arrives. I believe she lives high above sea level in Northern Thailand, Chiang Mai or thereabouts.
ReplyDeleteHugs.
I'm amazed at how some plants (in pots) in front of houses seem to thrive in the cold...
ReplyDeletemy fingers were drying up faster than the Sahara...
Yes, I've seen many but in Siriwans case they are in her beautifull garden, not in pots.
ReplyDeleteHugs.
will she put them away for protection and safety from the cold when winter comes?
ReplyDeleteeh, waittaminute..I didn't even know winter comes to Thailand...
She leaves them out, too many to take indoors. Yes, I know that it gets very, very cold in Chiang Mai, I spent a night in a bamboo hut there, no heating, no insulation and only one thin blanket.
ReplyDeleteI mentioned this in my photo album "Christmas day in Thailand.
Hugs.
ah yes, now I recall..and in the morning i think you had your hands wrapped around the coffee mug...
ReplyDeleteYes, one coffee for each hand.
ReplyDeleteLOL
lucky its your hands w/c get cold..my feet usually are the ones to fall prey...(and you can't wrap feet around coffee hehehe)
ReplyDeleteTrue, you'd need to find an "Onsen" or a "Kotatsu"
ReplyDeleteHugs.
would have been nice I guess to have a fireplace...
ReplyDeleteeven with a ceramic heater near to me in Takayama, it was a bit of a freezing moment :-)
speaking of which..I've not tried kotatsu...I missed that one...oh well, maybe next time w/ some nabe in front of me..
ReplyDeleteI've not tried the Kotatsu either but I have had the pleasure of a very special local (Hiroshima) sea food Nabe which is cooked at the table, (on the table) in the centre with an elecrically heated device.
ReplyDeleteWhat you do is take a portion which you then replace with extra ingrediants for a second helping.
Rice and fresh salad are available or replenished from the kitchen plus whatever you like to drink, normally Beer, Sake and or Choshu. We had all three. As it was full moon we had Moon cakes for desert with whatever coffee, chocolate, tea or fresh fruit juice.
A true family occasion in my friends large appartment.
Bon appetite'