Oh. my. goodness. What an insane week. If you've been following me on facebook, you'll know that I just wrapped up a nearly week-long trip to Kyoto to see the fall foliage. Normally, Kyoto is one of my absolute favorite places to see the changing leaves but this year ... man, this year was something... Continue Reading →
Top 5 Hidden Tokyo Foliage Spots
Tokyo may not be as popular a destination as Kyoto for its autumn colors, but the city's trees do deck themselves out in some pretty striking colors from mid-November to mid-December. Ask any Tokyoite where to go however, and the answers remain mostly the same: the ginkgo avenue near Jingu Gaien, the traditional garden of... Continue Reading →
Trip Tips: Koyo (Leaf Viewing) in Japan
Ack, it's mid-November! I swear, we just celebrated Halloween yesterday, right? Right ....? I'd meant to post this about a month ago, but for those of you in the Kansai and Tokyo regions, you'll still find some of the information relevant. I've just done my first leaf-peeping here in Tokyo (Showa Kinen park is a... Continue Reading →
Great Gardens: Hakuryuen (Kyoto)
Last year, my friend Felicity (constant travel companion and fabulous videoegrapher at Where Next Japan) invited my daughter and I to Kyoto for a visit to a rather special garden. Her Osaka-based photography club had gotten permission to visit a private garden in northern Kyoto and she wanted to know if I would like to... Continue Reading →
Manhole Monday: Minoh (Mino-o)
Before my trip to Wakayama prefecture earlier this month, I had a bit of time to kill when my flight arrived in Osaka super early. Luckily, the Minoh Waterfall was only a short 20 minute train ride away from the airport and I had high hopes of catching the start of the autumn foliage without... Continue Reading →
5 Faves: Autumn Leaf-Peeping Destinations (Part 2)
Last year's list of foliage favorites touched on some of the more well-known autumn destinations. This year, I'm looking a bit further afield (while also looking a bit closer to home at the same time! 😛 ) to gather a list that might avoid some of the crazy crowds involved in the more popular locations.... Continue Reading →
Trip Tips: Koyo (Leaf Viewing) in Japan
Last year, I went to Kyoto at the end of November. So did millions of other people from around the country. Were we all equally crazy? Yes, perhaps we were. Crazy for autumn leaves, that is. Kyoto is known as one of Japan's top leaf "peeping" destinations and rightly so. The display of scarlet and... Continue Reading →
Experience: Koyo in Kyoto
Whew! What a busy week and a half it has been. For those of you who follow me on Facebook (simply search Uncover Japan), you'll know that I've spent the last ten days exploring central Japan. I got to revisit Takayama, one of my favorite small towns in Japan, and ventured to Shirakawa-go and Kanazawa... Continue Reading →