Hey guys!
So today's video is going to be the next in my seasonal series of my favourite things
to do in Japan, and since I just did summer I figured I'd move straight into autumn, 'cause
it only makes logical sense, right?
So today's video is going to be my top five things to do if you are in Japan in autumn.
Now, as I did in the last video, I'll be putting up photos of my own experiences of these things
throughout the video, and also links to any videos that I made up here somewhere about
the thing that I'm talking about.
Make sense?
Hopefully yes.
Okay, so full disclosure: Autumn and spring are my two absolute favourite seasons in Japan.
I love the weather, I love the colours, I've always loved that like, season changing thing,
autumn and spring are my favourite seasons in almost every country I've visited, so...there's
that.
So a couple of these things, because of that, are not autumn specific, but just because
I love autumn so much I do recommend doing them in autumn if you get the chance.
But I will mention if it's something that I would recommend doing in Japan regardless
of what time you can do it.
So, let's get into it!
So having just mentioned my non-autumn specific things, let's get one of them out of the way
first, and that is Koya-san.
Koya-san is a mountain in Wakayama prefecture, it's well known for having many many many
Buddhist temples and also Japan's largest ancient graveyard, Okuno-in.
I went there several times during my time living in Japan and my absolute favourite
was a time during autumn.
Now, I've made a Travel Tips video about going to Koya-san, like how to get there, where
to stay, things like that, so I'll link that up here, and in that video I had a really
hard time explaining exactly what it is that I loved so much about Koya-san, and I'm gonna
have the same problem here, so bear with me.
It's just magical.
There's something really serene and peaceful about this place.
It's...it feels, um...special?
I don't know how to put that, like I'm not a very spiritual or religious person or anything
like that, but it just felt really good to be there.
Um, apart from that, the reason I would recommend going in autumn is two-fold.
Uh, first there are quite a few walks and hikes that you can do around Koya, and if
you're planning on doing those, going in summer or winter might be too hot or too cold.
I think autumn is the perfect temperature to do things like that and it's not gonna
be as dangerous in terms of heat stroke or getting lost in the snow and things like that,
as summer and winter would be.
So definitely recommend that.
And second, the whole place is just surrounded by Japanese maple trees, so you get incredible
foliage colours.
And especially if you're staying in a ryokan, which you almost certainly will be 'cause
I'm pretty sure there's no other accommodation on Koya-san, if you're staying in a ryokan,
which is temple accommodation, a lot of temples have gardens with autumn foliage deliberately
like...built in to the garden, because many Japanese temples have this like, four season
appeal thing that they try and do.
So they try and have something that will attract people for every season.
Um, so yeah, amazing autumn foliage, it just really added to the experience for me, I think
like some of the scenery you can see from the mountain is just amazing.
It often rains in autumn in Japan, and I felt like the rain really added to the..."ambience"
of the whole experience.
It was just genuinely one of my best, uh, trips that I made in Japan.
So I'm gonna stop trying to explain it now, 'cause I always have a really hard time doing
this.
Um, have a look at my Travel Tips video if you're interested in going, and this, as I
said, is something that I would really recommend going to do regardless of what season you're
in Japan, but especially if you can make it in autumn, definitely do.
Next let's talk about something autumn specific, and that is visiting temples to see autumn
foliage.
There are hundreds, probably thousands, of temples around Japan that are famous for their
incredible autumn foliage.
Um, just a couple would be Kiyomizudera, Meiji-jingu in Tokyo, uhh, Kasuga-taisha in Nara, like
there are just so so many.
In fact, as I mentioned in the Koya-san part, a lot of temples in Japan try to make themselves
appealing in all four seasons, it's kind of like a Japanese thing, where they take advantage
of every season for its beauty.
So wherever you are, you're bound to find a temple that is incredible for autumn foliage
and it will just look amazing.
Often the trees have been planted or the temple has been built around specifically getting
amazing views of trees in autumn and spring.
So definitely do that.
Wherever you are, just search for autumn temple visits and things like that.
A lot of the more famous ones will be really busy, like Kiyomizudera in autumn just gets
like...insane.
So my own personal recommendation, while all the really popular ones are obviously super
beautiful and if you don't mind crowds and don't mind waiting in lines and things, definitely
go to them, um, my personal recommendation for somewhere a little bit quieter would be
Hasedera in Nara prefecture.
It's just like a little bit off the beaten track and a little bit less touristy, but
still amazing.
It's up a mountain a little way and you just get this incredible panoramic autumn view.
So yeah, find some temples, visit some temples, whether you go to the super famous ones or
the ones off the beaten track or try a little bit of both.
Let's have another non-autumn specific one, and that is Arashiyama.
Arashiyama is a town just outside the main area of Kyoto and it's well known for a lot
of things.
I think a lot of people would recommend going to Arashiyama in winter, however for me, I
find autumn to be a little bit better and I'll explain why.
So three things that Arashiyama is really well known for is it's really famous bridge,
one of the biggest wooden bridges in Japan that is still left standing.
The bamboo forest, which is one of the most photographed areas in the world, which is
a pretty big accolade.
And my absolute favourite, the Arashiyama monkey park.
So I think all of these things are best done in autumn.
The bridge gets lit up in winter, like the trees around the bridge get illuminated in
winter, but for me I found that way too cold even for me, a very like cold weather type
person.
It was way too cold for me, and I also think that...the trees are bare in winter, obviously,
and in autumn you get this amazing spread of autumn colours, and I think that, for me,
was better than the illuminations.
Arashiyama monkey park I think is best in autumn because you go across the bridge and
then you climb up a mountain to get...(well, not up a mountain, it's a very small mountain)
to get to the monkey park, and once you're up there there's like binoculars and this
incredible, almost three hundred and sixty degree view of just autumn colours and it's
pretty amazing.
Plus, monkeys.
I mean, it's great.
Uh, and then the last thing is the bamboo forest.
I think they bamboo forest honestly looks fairly similar in every season, at least from
what I could tell, however I think that autumn is better for the other two, and since the
bamboo forest is the same all year round, might as well go in autumn.
However, as I said, this is not autumn specific.
If you happen to be in Kyoto in any season, I recommend going to Arashiyama.
It's absolutely amazing.
Like, beautiful beautiful place, often quite busy, but well well worth it.
My fourth recommendation is going to be a food recommendation.
In the summer version I said nagashi soumen, and I think I want to have a food recommendation
in all of these videos.
So I think a lot of people would say chestnut for autumn in Japan.
Like, chestnut flavoured things and roasted chestnuts.
However, I really don't like chestnuts for some reason, like I just can't handle them,
so that's not my recommendation, but if you do like chestnuts then they will be there.
My recommendation is kakinohazushi.
Kakinohazushi tends to be found in Nara prefecture, but Kansai, like most of Kansai will have
it if you look hard enough.
Um, and kakinohazushi is a special kind of sushi, in case you couldn't tell by the name.
"Kaki" is persimmon in Japanese, and "no" is like belonging to, and "zushi" is sushi.
So it's um...persimmon sushi.
It's not actually persimmon, but it's wrapped and preserved in a persimmon leaf, so you
get this like pickled fish...it sounds terrible...it's really delicious, I promise!
This like pickled fish sushi, and usually it comes in either salmon or um, trout I think?
It's like a white fish.
Anyway.
And it's just like the most delicious kind of sushi ever.
It's popular in autumn because autumn is persimmon season, and it's just absolutely amazing.
If you can find it, absolutely do, it's a really traditional food and it is so good!
And my fifth and final recommendation is pretty broad, but something that I really think it's
worth mentioning, and that is hikes and walks.
Japan has loads of hiking and walking if you like that kind of thing and if you're willing
to look for it.
It's often not as touristy of an attraction as a lot of other things, like temples and
things like that, and so I think it's a really great thing to do because you get to see a
lot of Japan that you might not get to see otherwise.
Um, you can look up any kind of walks in your area and there should be like a wide range,
from beginner to expert.
Two of my favourites around the Kansai area are the Yamanobe-no-michi in Ikoma, which
is like...it can be quite a long walk, but you can just turn around and come back whenever
you like.
It goes to several different temples and it's really rural, really really beautiful.
And my other recommendation would be Mount Maya in Kobe.
Mount Maya is known as one of the best places to watch the sunset in Japan and it's absolutely
gorgeous.
Definitely go there for sunset, you can also visit the herb gardens in Kobe on the way,
and all of it is just amazing, especially in autumn because, as I mention every time,
you get this amazing foliage and just panoramic views of it.
It's incredible.
So yeah, if you're into hiking and walking, autumn is the perfect season for it in Japan,
in my opinion.
Okay, so that is my top five things to do in Japan in autumn.
I really hope this video was helpful to you and gave you some ideas for your trip, or
if you're living in Japan, gave you some ideas for your autumn.
If you have any thoughts about my top five, or any questions please ask them in the comments
below, or if you wanna talk about your favourite things to do in autumn in Japan, let me know.
I know that there'll be a million things that I never even got to do.
And apart from that, thank you so much for watching and I will catch you in the next
one.
Peace!
No comments:
Post a Comment