Jelena: Magical autumn in Japan

The custom of watching autumn leaves (kōyō, literally “red leaves”) is deeply weaved into Japanese culture. Thus, besides the rich literary corpus dealing with this motive, there are thousands of publications like collections of art photography and tourist guides that represent woods, temples and parks with the most beautiful deciduous trees.

Every year, usually in late September, a wave of red leaves is formed on the island of Hokkaido, getting almost to Kamchatka, and for the next two months it gradually spreads toward the south.

In November, all parks, temples and university campuses blaze, and the mountains, hillsides and valleys glow for a couple of weeks in all shades of yellow, red, purple and brown, thanks to the mantle of colorful autumn leaves.

That’s when hundreds of thousands of Japanese people will visit parks and temples, go for a weekend picnic to the woods and mountains, or to warm mountain baths in order to enjoy the bright colour of autumn leaves and do something beneficial for their health.

The practice of going to nature only to see autumn leaves comes from the early Middle Ages when both the members of the imperial court and the aristocracy used to go to the mountains and hills near Kyoto, at the time the capital of Japan, to sing about the beauty, but also the transient nature of leaves, comparing them with love and human life.

Japan is probably unique for its weather forecast, which, apart from the facts about the temperature, wind strength, precipitation, and the height of the sea waves, gives also the information about when and where the explosion of autumn colours is going to occur.

Japanese priests and horticulturists carefully choose and arrange particular kinds of trees, like maple and oak, combining them with moss and other plants so as to create the special ambience during autumn.

Autumn leaves are also used like a decoration to arrange meals in some restaurants serving traditional Japanese food.

Chilly yet sunny weather with a lot of bright days, some of which are as warm as those in the early spring, is very specific for November in central Japan. Nice weather and breathtaking landscapes make this month, together with April, the most pleasant to visit Japan, so now is the right moment to pack your bags and spend an unforgettable holiday in the land of the rising sun.