Japan is a country famous for its four distinct seasons, and autumn is one of the most beautiful times of the year. The red leaves of Japan are renowned all over the world for their stunning colors, which are as brilliant as a sunset.

Japanese people enjoy the autumn foliage as much as they do cherry blossom viewing in the spring. The weather station announces the best time to view the red leaves around the country, and tourists and photographers flock to see them.

Japanese foliage viewing is often called "foliage hunting" as tourists and photographers follow the opening time of foliage from Hokkaido to the south of Japan, just to enjoy the most beautiful autumn scenery.

There are countless places to enjoy the autumn leaves in Japan, usually combined with gardens, lakes, and other landscapes, so you can enjoy Japanese culture and scenery while marveling at the leaves. Today, we will recommend some Japanese leaf-viewing meccas to let you feel the essence of autumn.

The Arashiyama area is the best place to see red leaves in western Kyoto. The best time to see the red leaves is from late November to early December, and the color of maple leaves varies with the height of the mountain. The second Sunday of November every year is the "Autumn Leaves Festival," which is very lively.

The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route is a mountain tour that runs through the Northern Alps, a chain of peaks with an elevation of 3,000 meters. From the highest peak around Tateyama to the Kurobe Dam, the leaves of the mountains turn red in successive layers. Whether you hike or take the cable car, you can enjoy the beauty of the foliage from many angles.

The Senjatashiki Basin is a bowl-shaped basin located at an altitude of about 2,600 meters above sea level in the Central Alps. Twenty-thousand years ago, ice from the Ice Age carved out this basin and surrounded it with alpine plants, making it a rich area. In autumn, the birch and shichizo trees start to turn red and can be visited by cable car or along a walking trail.

Tochigi Prefecture's Nikko City's Mt. Iroba Road is a winding mountain road that connects Nikko City and Oku Nikko and is one of the scenic spots of Mt. The autumnal layers of forests add to the charm of the area, and there are special sightseeing buses to enjoy the foliage of the mountains.

Kamikochi is called the Genkai Pass of the Northern Alps and is a famous mountain spot in Japan connected to the upper stream of the Zigawa River at an altitude of 1,500 meters. In the vast Kamikochi area, you can feel the beauty of nature in the autumn, such as the Myojin Pond, which is colored by autumn leaves, and the golden Tang pine forest.

Asahidake is the main peak of the Daisetsuzan mountain chain at an altitude of 2,291 meters, and it is also the highest peak in Hokkaido. In autumn, the autumn leaves start to appear at the earliest point in Japan, and you can enjoy the view from the ropeway or the observation deck.

The couple's pond, which consists of the Mirror Pond and the Kenpaku Pond, is also a popular attraction here.

Tateyama Kurobe, located in central Japan, is known as "Japan's Last Secret Land." In the fall, the leaves are mixed with snow, creating an awe-inspiring landscape. The world's longest unsupported alpine cable car is also here, so you can enjoy the majestic alpine scenery, and the maple leaves all over the mountain are so beautiful that you will feel like you are in a painting.