Kyoto fall colors in December

Hi there

Will the first week of December be good to visit Kyoto for fall colors? Going by the trip reports (mid november), it looks like Kyoto is already at its prettiest right now?

If not Kyoto, what are other recommendations for fall colors in the 1st/2nd week of december?

Thanks much!

Kyoto is already very nice, but not at the peak of the season yet. I estimate the peak to generally take place from around the 20th to around the 30th. Of course, it differs between the spots.

Comparing with previous years, it seems to me that this year's colors in Kyoto are about one week ahead of last year's pace and a couple of days behind the pace of 2010:
http://www.japan-guide.com/blog/koyo11/
http://www.japan-guide.com/blog/koyo10/

Based on that, some colors will definitely still be around in early December, and in some spots they will still be spectacular, but in a quickly increasing number of spots, the colors will be beyond the peak.

This is how Kyoto looked on December 1, 2010:
http://www.japan-guide.com/blog/koyo10/101201.html

Thanks a lot Uji! Yes thats what I was thinking too...Tokyo might be a better option then?

The timing is probably better for colors in Tokyo, but the koyo spots of Kyoto are superior to the koyo spots of Tokyo in my opinion. Kyoto's temples and gardens are simply nicer than Tokyo's. If autumn colors are your top priority, I would spend the first few days of December in Kyoto and then move to Tokyo.