Visit Date: 11/21/2013 (Best Viewing TIme: late November to early December)
Koishikawa Kōrakuen (小石川後楽園) is one of the oldest and best preserved parks in Tokyo and one of the surviving gardens from the Edo period. Numerous maple and ginkgo trees are planted along walking trails that lead to ponds, bridges, and man-made hills, providing one of the most pleasing autumn viewing spot in the city.
Visit Date: 11/19/2013 (Best Viewing TIme: late November to early December)
The ginkgo tree, known as ‘icho’ in Japanese is a prominent tree for autumn colors when its greenish leaves turn into blazing yellow color. It is easily found in temples, urban parks, and along the city streets. It is Tokyo’s official tree and its leaf is also used as a symbol of Tokyo.
Among the many ginkgo lined streets in Tokyo, the Icho Namiki (銀杏並木) or Ginkgo Avenue located in Meiji-jingu Gaien Park is most popular during the autumn season – when its 300 meters long ginkgo tree-lined boulevard turns to radiant yellow creating a brilliant landscape.
Continue reading Autumn 2013: Meiji-jingu Gaien Park’s Ginkgo Avenue
Visit Date: 10/19/2013 (Best Viewing Time: early October to mid November)
Oku-Nikko is located in the northwestern part of of Nikko, a city in the mountains of Tochigi Prefecture, which is approximately 140 km north of Tokyo. Oku-Nikko forms a part of the Nikko National Park and offers a scenic beauty of the mountain landscapes, marshes and lakes, waterfalls, hot springs, wild monkeys, and hiking trails. The Oku-Nikko area is also well-known for its beautiful autumn colors and provides an excellent walk with nature.
Mt. Nokogiri is a 329.4 meters tall mountain located at the southwest part of Chiba Prefecture and lies in the city of Futtsu and the town of Kyonan. It forms the boundary between Kazusa and Awa areas of the Boso Peninsula.
Continue reading Mt. Nokogiri 鋸山, the “Saw-Toothed Mountain”
Summer in Japan is hot and humid and most people find it stuffy and suffocating. With this kind of weather, most people take this time to travel to places with higher elevations or to go to the islands and mountains. This year we took the opportunity to visit Niijima again and we included a side trip to the neighboring Shikinejima as well.
