Autumn has arrived

[kifo]

I was hiking at Kamikochi last Saturday. The reds and yellows are already starting.

 

[flame_angel]

Top of my bucket list! Need to get around doing it.

 

[asiafrenz]

ya the temperature is now in the 16-18 range, summer officially over, even first snow at the peak of mt yotei in hokkaido!

 

[evilerniex]

nice! please share more photo and trip report!

 

[s7460597]

Some reports in Japan guide

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2014.html

 

[eq2addict]

nice ~!!

+ 10 characters

 

[kenne79]

Will be in Osaka Kyoto from 10/10 for a week
Then Fuji region for 3 nights
Follow by Tokyo for 4 nights

Any chance of me catching Autumn colour? Fuji 5 lake higher chance?

 

[Haonan]

Will be in Osaka Kyoto from 10/10 for a week
Then Fuji region for 3 nights
Follow by Tokyo for 4 nights

Any chance of me catching Autumn colour? Fuji 5 lake higher chance?

Not sure where you will be staying for your upcoming Fuji/Tokyo itineraries, but if you don't happen to be spotting any nice peaks ard yr dates for that Lake Kawaguchiko/Mount Fuji trip, depending on whether you are willing to travel out you can try making some daytrip stops at nearby locations such as Kamikochi (上高地) in Nagano Prefecture (abt 1hr 24mins Shinkansen ride from Tokyo) or Mount Tanigawa Tenjin pass (谷川岳天神平) in Gunma Prefecture (abt 75mins Shinkansen ride from Tokyo, take and alight at Jomo-Kogen station then switch to a 25mins bus ride to Minakami station for the Tanigawadake Ropeway up the hill to enjoy the Koyo bloom and surrounding scenaries. Here is one of the Koyo blog reports for Autumn 2013 by one of the contributors on Japan-guide.

Areas in Nagano Prefecture for spotting Koyo.
Areas in Gunma Prefecture for spotting Koyo. (Karuizawa is also another famous Koyo location filled with nice towns and shops there too and I believe foliage shd be spotable for yr travelling dates so def don't miss out this place)

Use the site's picture glossary guide to estimate based on yr own travelling dates when you are there in JP. Mi-goro (見ごろ) aka blossom peak as stated on the website is what you should be looking out for. Have already shared the WalkerPlus website awhile back on a fellow bro's thread recently, it's a really useful and accurate website so use it to your advantage.

For your itinerary dates in Osaka/Kyoto, it is definitely too early to spot Koyo there. But Kansai region is not the only place for enjoying Autumn foliage, there are always other places in Japan to do that.

Hope the above helps.

 

[PyroBlade]

Kifo,
you damn lucky dude...

I got hit by blizzard while 3/4 up Mt Asahidake on 29 Sep, couldn't make it across to Kurodake, then Sounkyo.
Local hikers told me it was the 2nd day of snow for Japan, and it got reported in local TV too.

Shiretoko wasn't any better too, sightseeing ferries got cancelled throughout the whole week due to high waves.

Didn't have a spare day to make another attempt on 30 Sep.
Haiz, Daisetsuzan was supposed to be highlight of my trip....

on the way back down on gondola, lower altitude

P.S. shameless plug... Xperia Z3+ is a damn good all-weather camera phone.

 

[kifo]

Kifo,
you damn lucky dude...

I got hit by blizzard while 3/4 up Mt Asahidake on 29 Sep, couldn't make it across to Kurodake, then Sounkyo.
Local hikers told me it was the 2nd day of snow for Japan, and it got reported in local TV too.

Shiretoko wasn't any better too, sightseeing ferries got cancelled throughout the whole week due to high waves.

Didn't have a spare day to make another attempt on 30 Sep.
Haiz, Daisetsuzan was supposed to be highlight of my trip....

P.S. shameless plug... Xperia Z3+ is a damn good all-weather camera phone.

Ahhh tough luck.

Actually it wasn't totally great for my trip too. That weekend, we have been checking weather forecast days before and it seems to be great so that was why we decided to go. But the day before the hike as we were on our way to Matsumoto, we read the news that a new low pressure front has developed all across Japan and it totally messed up all the weather prediction. In fact, the news was putting out warning of flooding and landslides across several Kanto prefectures. We started hiking on Thursday and it started to rain as we were climbing up to Mt Tsubakuro. It was so bad up there that we decided to stay cut the day short and stay in the lodge instead of moving onto Mt Otensho. The next day was basically hiking in the rain all the way up Mt Otensho and then down to Jounen lodge. We were actually hoping to climb Yarigatake but it was simply inconceivable in that weather. On Saturday when we were leaving Jounen lodge, the weather cleared up and we had a great 2 days of hiking. Yup so weather is kind of unpredictable in Japan too.

 

[tkk97]

.
Coming, long walking the season of falling leaves.

 

[snap99]

oh you lucky lucky guy

 

[darkmatt]

wa so early already snowed..

 

[Kage82]

Is it possible to cover from Taisho Pond to Myojin Pond in a day trip from Matsumoto to Kamikochi?

 

[kifo]

Is it possible to cover from Taisho Pond to Myojin Pond in a day trip from Matsumoto to Kamikochi?

You are asking about the alpine route? Sorry I have no idea as I have't done that before. I was hiking on foot. 3.5 days to do the Nakabusa Onsen - Mt Tsubakuro - Mt Otensho - Mt Jonen - Mt Chougatake - Kamikochi traverse.

First day evening. A break in the rain at 6.00pm just before dusk allowed us a chance to do a mad dash for the peak of Mt Tsubakuro next to the Ensansou lodge.

Due to the horrible weather, the next day was spent travelling without seeing anything much. Just lots of white fog.

Finally we were rewarded with our patience for good weather. Just nice it was at the highest point of our hike on Mt Jounen.

This is the view of the Kamikochi valley just before our descent.

 

[snap99]

Is it possible to cover from Taisho Pond to Myojin Pond in a day trip from Matsumoto to Kamikochi?

Yes ...... Arrive early morning when the peaks are unobstructed by clouds .....and quite leisurely walk. Can make the 3 pm bus back to matsumoto.

 

[kifo]

Last picture. The most beautiful mountain in the Northern Alps - Mt Yarigatake in her full glory.

 

[xtwis7]

Anybody had experience with travelling in Hokkaido during Sept?

 

[PyroBlade]

Anybody had experience with travelling in Hokkaido during Sept?

Yup, I just did Hokkaido between 24 Sep - 2 Oct (18 Sep - 23 Sep in Kanto and Tohoku).

 

[Sausage]

from 20 november - 29 november, will the autumn colors still be there in osaka and tokyo? or gone already?