2012/12/07 - Autumn Color Report: Tokyo
by scott
Rikugien
It has been a week since our last autumn report from Tokyo, and in that time the autumn foliage has reach the peak around most of the sites in the city. Today I revisited some of Tokyo's best autumn color spots, including the Icho Namiki, Shinjuku Gyoen, Koishikawa Korakuen and Rikugien, to see how they were faring.
Last week the trees along the Ginkgo Avenue (Icho Namiki) near Aoyama-Itchome Subway Station were at their peak. Today however, it seems that most of the leaves have fallen. The trees immediately along the road were starting to become pretty bare while the outer rows of trees were quickly losing their leaves.
Icho Namiki
Under the trees
Lots of naked branches
Icho Namiki
Next stop of the day was to nearby Shinjuku Gyoen where the maple trees around the park's Momijiyama (Maple Mountain) were looking very nice. Most of the trees around the pond were either at the peak or quickly approaching their best colors, and it will probably remain nice here for another week or so.
Momijiyama
Lots of beautiful maples were approaching their peak
Nice orange maples
Beautiful colors over the maple canal
The maple trees around the park's Japanese Garden were still looking nice today; however, it looked as if they are starting to decline. If you look closely at the leaves, they are starting to loose their vibrancy and were starting to dry out and fall.
Shinjuku Gyoen
Around the Japanese Garden
Fallen leaves
Shinjuku Gyoen
Around the Japanese Garden
Maples and ginkgoes
Beautiful ginkgo just outside the Sendagaya Gate
Bare cherry trees
Winter cherry blossoms (fuyuzakura)
After visiting Shinjuku Gyoen I headed over to Koishikawa Korakuen. The maples trees around this popular strolling garden were at their peak today and some of the best colors of the day. I would expect it to remain nice into next week.
Koishikawa Korakuen
Koishikawa Korakuen
One of the best spots around the pond
And another of my favorite trees
Closeup of the leaves
Koishikawa Korakuen
My final stop today was to Rikugien, where the maple trees were still extremely colorful. Most of the trees looked to still be around their peak, especially around the Tsutsuji Chaya where the trees that line the canal were simply beautiful. It was a nice spot for me to end this autumn's reporting season, as I'm signing off for the year, but be sure to check back again next week for a final autumn color report from Sean.
Rikugien from the Fujishirotoge Viewpoint
Togetsukyo Bridge
Maples around the Tsutsuji Chaya
A duck
Rikugien
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