Yamadera: Starting to Change

It has been almost ten days since Cassie reported from Nikko, where the fall foliage were at their peak colors, and over a month since the start of our autumn color coverage. Up until now, we have only visited places that are over or around 1500 meters in elevation, where the leaves typically change colors due to the cooler temperatures. Today, I made my way to much lower elevations, specifically to Yamadera Temple in Yamagata Prefecture to check out the state of the colors.

The scenic temple grounds span the 200-500 meter elevation range, and I found the leaves were starting to change their color. The trees at the lower area of the temple were predominantly green, while ones in the upper area were a touch more colorful. Comparing today's color situation to our past years autumn color reports from Yamadera, which were usually in the first week of November, I came to the conclusion that it would be a week or so before the leaves take on more colors. Consequently, I expect the colors to peak in early November.

Yamadera Temple was founded over a thousand years ago, and its temple buildings are built into the steep mountainside. Caves and historical wooden temple buildings remain, adding to the interesting landscape, especially in the temple's scenic upper area. To get there, visitors will have to climb about 1000 steps, which takes about 30 minutes.

Yamadera Temple is most easily accessed from Yamadera Station on the JR Senseki Line that connects Sendai and Yamagata cities. The one way journey from Sendai to Yamadera takes about an hour, while it takes about 20 minutes from Yamagata. From the station, it is a short five minute walk to the entrance to the temple.