What does “Autumn Leaves” mean?
So-called “Autumn leaves” are Kaede leaves. In this chapter, let me show how they grow up.
In mid-April, Kaede flowers bloom.
Flowers fall off and the leaves grow up to Aomomiji in late-April or early March.
And leaves have seeds.
Around June, the leaves fall off and they are in Migoro.
Around late September, the green leaves start turning their colors.
Around mid-November, they are in Migoro.
The colors
Red
We can find leaves in brilliant red easily on the web but hardly find them actually.
Vermilion
Most popular color.
Yellow
Not popular as vermillion ones.
Green
Some are in green.
Pink
It’s not easy to find beautiful ones.
Pale color
Some leaves are not in vivid colors.
Eikando
If you want to see all of them, Eikando is the best place.
How can we enjoy Autumn leaves?
Themselves
The basic way.
On the ground
Leaves on the ground. They are so beautiful on mosses.
Night illumination
They look quite different at night.
Mizukagami
Reflection on a pond. We love to admire something indirectly.
With Nishikigoi carp
Enjoy the leaves on a surface of a pond. Carps make them floating around.
On rainy day
Rain make the colors of leaves stand out.
Gradation
It seems as though they were growing up to Autumn leaves.
Reflection
Japanese people love to admire something indirectly. Mizukagami is one of the ways. There are famous places to enjoy “Reflection.”
Rurikoin temple
The most famous place to enjoy reflection. We can enjoy the reflection of Exquisite leaves on the polished table. The Migoro is very short at Rurikoin.
Yusai Tei
Yusai Tei is one of the most underrated places especially for foreign tourists.
When can we admire autumn leaves in Kyoto?
The times we can enjoy autumn leaves
Generally speaking, there are the periods to enjoy autumn leaves.
- Irozuki Hajime・・・Leaves start turning colors
- Migoro・・・Over 70％ of leaves turned colors
- Chiri Hajime ・・・Start falling
- Miosame・・・All leaves fell off
Migoro is the best time to admire something and it depends on the place you visit. The Migoro of autumn leaves lasts for a week.
Migoro is the best time to admire something, especially flowers and autumn leaves.
The places to visit
In this post, we define three areas in Kyoto.
- Takao and Ohara
- So-called Kyoto
- Late Migoro
- Migoro in December
- Takao and Ohara are rural mountainous area and the leaves start turning colors earlier than those in 2.
- Many famous places belong to So-called Kyoto.
- Some places located in 2 though the leaves there turn their colors later than those in 2.
- Some places located in 2 though the leaves there turn their colors in December those in 2.
How can we foresee Migoro?
Usually, the autumn season of the year started in early November and the Karesansui garden of Tenjuan temple is a great indicator.
- Tenjuan located in the So-called Kyoto area but the leaves of its Karesanusi garden start turning colors in early November and are in Migoro around on 10/11, at almost the same time the ones found in Takao and Ohara area.
- Many places in the So-called Kyoto area, like Kiyomizudera, Eikando, and other places are in Migoro about 10 days later: Around 20/11.
- Late places are Ryoanji, Tofukuji, and other places.
- Migoro in December is the last autumn leaves of the year. We can enjoy them in early December in Yasaka shrine, Kenninji, and Shimogamo shirne.
こんな塩梅よ but we cannot foresee Migoro and the others exactly.
| Irozuki Hajime | Migoro | Chiri Hajime | Miosame | |
| Takao and Ohara | Early Nov. | 10th of Nov. | 1 week later | Couples of days later |
| So-called Kyoto | 10th of Nov. | 20th of Nov. | 1 week later | Couples of days later |
| Late Migoro | 20th of Nov. | 27th of Nov. | 1 week later | Couples of days later |
| Migoro in Decenber | Late Nov. | Early Dec. | 1 week later | Couples of days later |
Itineraries
I’ll translate these post in English.
Where can we admire autumn leaves in Kyoto?
Top 10 Famous places
Eikando, Tofukuji, Ryoanji, Kiyojmizudera temple, Kinkakuji temple, Ginkakuji temple, Toji temple, the shrines and temples in Arashiyama and other places.
Top 10 Underrated places
Korinin temple, Tennjuan temple, Saihoji temple (not included in the link above), Komyoin. and other places.
Strongly Recommended places
#1 Korinin temple
It is the most underrated place where we can admire the best autumn leaves in the world. Beyond any descriptions.
#2 Eikando temple
Eikando is the most famous place to enjoy to autumn leaves in Kyoto. There are many kinds of trees and we can see Migoros come gradually. One of the most brilliant colors.
#3 Ryoanji temple
The most famous Karesansui garden on the planet. Behind the Rock Garden, there are extraordinary beautiful leaves.
#4 Tofukuji temple
Tofukuji has a large autumn leaves forest. We can enjoy the iconic view from Gaunkyo bridge.
#5 Saihoji Temple
At Saihoji, we can spot many brilliant leaves over Mofu-mofu (fluffy) mosses in the garden.
Strongly Recommended Night Illumination
#Toji temple
Toji is one of the most beautiful and crowded places in Kyoto. Enjoy the pagoda on the extraordinary Mizukagami.
#2 Eikando temple
Eikando is also special at night. The leaves in brilliant colors are illuminated in faschinated way.
#3 Konkai Komyoji temple
Konaki Komyoji is one of the most underrated places in Kyoto though we can find amazing red leaves.
#4 Kitano Tenmangu shrine
At the center of the faith of Goryo, we also can find amazing red leaves at Kitano Tenmangu in Odoy, the debris of the wall used as a border of Kyoto city.
#5 Kiyomizudera temple
At Kiyomizudera temple, the iconic view of the stage from Okunoin and other facilities are illuminated at night in fascinating way.
Other places?
Places not open to us these years
Post-COVID, some places are not open to us. In this chapter, I’ll show you some of them.
Jikishian Temple
Rokuoin Temple
Sakura in fall
We can enjoy Sakuras in fall. They are Fusan Zakura or Jyugatsu Zakura and not the same ones in spring.
Sakura?
