It doesn't matter whether you're on the coast or in the mountains, even away from the big cities and tourist centers, Japan has a lot to offer. Nature lovers really get their money's worth and since the land in the Far East has four distinct seasons, the country and its landscape constantly show themselves from a completely different side. I am sure that most visitors will prefer spring, as they will be able to admire the magnificent spectacle of the blooming cherry trees. I would probably also favor this early season, even though there is actually a lot to discover and marvel at all year round. In terms of beauty, autumn is another highlight, when nature once again reveals its colorful and radiant side and when the trees and bushes put on their colorful dress. Autumn is truly some special time and worth experiencing, as it is so fleeting and full of melancholy, pointing to the coming long winter.
Our last short trip had finally taken us out of our city and right into the heart of the country. We spent a few days in the Aizu region in the west of Fukushima Prefecture, hoping to relax a little and get away from the stress of everyday life. In terms of weather, we had no expectations at all and were therefore pleasantly surprised seeing the sun accompany us on our trip. We had actually assumed that autumn was already over in this part of Japan, and during our journey we had already seen the first snow of the winter. But surprisingly, the countryside was in many places still revealing its nicer and brighter side and even now, at the end of the year, it still managed to show us its colorful face. These days when we are transitioning from autumn to winter, the heart of the country was still coming up with a lot of colors and was able to shine for us once again.
No wonder our mood got even better and our souls feasted on all the wonderful panoramas we got to see here in the mountains. That's exactly what I needed, and I quickly and easily managed to get excited about all the wonderful views around me. The approaching winter was suddenly very far away again, even though it was present most of the time.
But why don't you come with me on a little photo tour, where I would like to show you a little of the beauty of the Aizu area. You will soon understand why I love this region so much.
As usual, our route followed the course of the Agano River, which winds its way through the mountains. From here in Aizu, it still has quite a long journey ahead before eventually reaching the Sea of Japan. On the way there, it has formed many imposing gorges in the mountains, which like here in Ashinomaki make for wonderful panoramas. This area is also popular with its Onsen-Hotel, which provide relaxing hot-springs for the tired visitors.
As it was already early December, we were really lucky with the weather, as the mountains are rarely this friendly at this time of year. Other visitors had tied small pieces of paper to this shrub, on which their future was predicted. If you are not happy with what was written there, you can try to change your fate by placing the notes in very specific places. Like here, for example.
One place we really wanted to see was Te-No-Hetsuri, a gorge formed by the Agano River, over which we crossed a small bridge that offered great views of the cliffs around us. Even though many trees in this gorge where already showing its bare side, we could still find some occasional green. The pleasant blue of the sky and the calm scenery around us played there part in creating this sublime atmosphere which greeted us when we were approaching this inviting suspension bridge. Who doesn't want to cross and check out the other side?
At same places we could go down almost to water level and enjoy some very special views from there. The river has become a quite familiar fellow to us and accompanied us on several of our journeys before.
Since we were already down we sometimes had to look up as well. Fortunately, the rock above us was quite stable and even offered support to some trees, which looked down at us in their autumnal dress.
Winter still seemed a long way off on this day, but the first white had already appeared on some of the mountain peaks and was there to stay for a while. The contrast was further enhanced by the blue sky and the green trees, and this sight had also prompted me to pull the car over to the road side and let my gaze wander in the distance. That's exactly why I was here!
Here in the mountains, winter can be quite harsh and people have to be prepared to be cut off from the outside world from time to time. Nevertheless, there are small settlements everywhere, whose inhabitants often only want to live here and nowhere else.
But winter isn't here yet, and if you look close, you can still make out so many different colors. There is some evergreen showing up next to different shades of orange and brown, overlooked by the white of the mountain peaks. I surely enjoyed looking at this.
Even if it wasn't sunny all the time, we found a bit of color almost everywhere. Like here in a temple in the forest, where a small maple bush provided just the right highlights. Peaceful and sublime, ready to last forever.
This yellow fruit also provided a little colorful distraction. Last year I was still puzzled as to what I was looking at here, but this time everything was clear to me. It was a Karin fruit, also known as Chinese quince, which for example is used in traditional medicine.
This sight is also so typical for the late season and for this region. There were quite a few places where we saw Kaki, as persimmons are called here in Japan, hanging up to dry, as well as countless trees that were still full of those fruit, which were probably no longer being harvested. Apparently there are just too many kakis, which normally have to be soaked in alcohol to be edible. But on the trees, they continue to provide a pleasant splash of color in this nice landscape.
Fortunately, as you can see in the last picture, there was still plenty of color to discover all around us. This maple tree had already shed most of its beautiful red leaves and they formed a soft and dense carpet that you hardly dared to step on. However, for this late in the season there were still a surprising amount of leaves on all the trees and bushes around us, and for early December the landscape still looked quite fresh and vibrant.
Luckily, fall had not yet left us and we were still able to enjoy a bit of its fiery spectacle here in the Aizu region. This part of Japan has already enchanted us several times before, and once again it managed to fascinate us. As usual, we have made another big promise to come back and I am quite sure that we will keep it. Let's see what time of year we'll be here then, but I already know that Aizu will delight us again. I'm already looking forward to it!
[//]:# (!pinmapple 37.32531 lat 139.91106 long The heartland is still glowing 👹🍣🎎 Wonderful Japan d3scr)
