Stunning Instagram Photos of Fall Foliage in Japan
Autumn in Japan. Photo by Nevin Thompson.
Like many other countries and regions around the world, Japan enjoys distinct seasons throughout the year.
While summers are torrid and winter can be unpleasant due to the lack of central heating in most of the country, spring and fall provide residents with a brief respite from the climatic extremes that Japan experiences the rest of the year.
The autumn months of October and November bring on quite a spectrum of colors as the leaves on the trees lose their green. Many people upload their snapshots of the fall foliage to social media.
Here is a selection of photos from Nikko, a popular tourist spot in the mountains northeast of Tokyo. Nikko is known for its splendid fall colors, especially the vibrant reds of the Japanese maple (Acer palmatum).
Brilliantly red maples
The chief attraction of Nikko is a complex of gaudily decorated shrines and temples constructed as the mausoleum of the Tokugawa shoguns who unified Japan following a long period of civil war.
While the Tokugawa clan was famous for their military prowess, their aesthetic sense was not as highly developed, leaving visitors to Nikko overloaded with the visual stimuli of temples coated in gold and vermilion hues.
The beauty of fall foliage. #tochigi #nikko #sano #2015 #travel #Nikko National Park #waterfall
During the fall, however, the surrounding hills are more than a match for Tokugawa's temples.
Nikko is more than temple town. It's also a popular outdoor destination. The mild temperatures of Japan's fall months make Nikko a popular vacation spot.
The weather is nippy enough, however, to make wearing a muffler mandatory.
The drive up to Nikko from the Tokyo region is fantastic. Here we see a roadway lined with towering cryptomeria trees.
The drive up on the Nikko Highway
Our trip to Tochigi is enjoying awesome fall weather! We got up early and now we're eating brunch. Tochigi soba noodles are delicious!
Nikko, Toshogu: Travel in Autumn
Seasonal foods play a big role in Japanese cuisine. Here we see a shop in Nikko preparing two favorite fall snacks, grilled dango rice dumplings, along with charcoal-grilled ayu river trout.
Dango and fish skewers
While a hot spring can be enjoyed at any time of year in Japan, there's something about the crisp, cool air of fall that makes a dip in an outdoor bath even more enjoyable.
#hot spring #oku nikko #Nikko Kogen Hotel… This is awesome!!
And, just like spring, autumn ends all too fast. The bright, sunny days of October and early November are soon replaced by the winter rains that wash the colorful hues of fall away.
This post was researched used Echosec‘s location-based social media search and monitoring tool.
