Waiting For The Beauty Of The Falling Leaves In Japan

Ilustrasi (Jasmine Chew/Pexels)

JAKARTA - A charming sight that is impossible to find in Indonesia is the fall of leaves in autumn. Towards fall, the leaves change color so that it becomes a very charming parade of colors. One of the right places to watch the color parade is Japan.

It takes about six weeks for the foliage to change color. Starting from around late September to early November, this is a good time to visit. The color change starts from a higher area and then moves down to the foot of the mountain.

Visitors can see the difference in contrasting colors as they traverse the mountains from the elevation to the lower plains. At the foot of the mountain, the leaves are still green, reddening in the middle, while at the top it is white.

One of the most interesting places to visit during this period is Mount Tateyama, especially along the area known as the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route. This mountain peak traverse area stretches only about 25 kilometers.

However, the difference in height reaches 1.975 meters. This route can be reached in various ways, from buses, trolleybuses, cable cars, or cable cars.

The highest station is Murodo, at an altitude of 2.450 meters. From here, visitors can see a spectacular view that will show a different nuance for each season. Starting points can start from Tateyama in Toyama Prefecture and Ogizawa in Nagano Prefecture.

On the Toyama side, the bus from Bijodaira to Murodo will pass through a snow wall that is slowly getting higher and higher. The highest section can reach 20 meters or the equivalent of a six-story building, making it an interesting attraction known as the Yuki no Otani (large snow canyon).

Another point of interest in the fall is Kenroku-en Garden. Kenroku-en is located on a hill in downtown Kanazawa. The Unu garden is one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan, along with Kairaku-en in Mito and Koraku-en in Okayama. Kenroku-en was a garden in Kanazawa Castle which opened to the public in 1874.

There are many points of interest within this area of more than 100 thousand square meters. These include the Kasumi-ga-ike Pond, the two-legged Kotoji-toro lantern in the north of the garden, and the Hisago-ike pond.

In winter, the snow falls so heavily in this place that the tree branches have to be supported by a tool called the yukitsuri so they don't break under the weight of the snow. The ropes supporting the tree branches form beautiful geometric patterns.

Another place not to be missed in autumn is Hitachi Beach Side Park. This area consists of seven different areas covering a total of 190 hectares. Each area has its own theme filled with different plants and flowers.

In fact, one area, namely the Pleasure Garden, consists of an amusement park that has nearly 30 different attractions, including a Ferris wheel. The park also has an 11-kilometer bicycle path that crosses all seven areas.

With a variety of flowers that bloom at different times of the year, visitors will always find a different atmosphere every time they come.

In autumn, Kochia plants turn Miharashi Hill from green to reddish. This scene is even more spectacular because of the backdrop of the blue sky and sea. Unsurprisingly, Hitachi Beach Side Park is always packed with visitors, especially when autumn arrives.