posted on October 17, 2019   (updated on October 23, 2019)

  Typhoon Hagibis ravaged much of the country over the last weekend, causing devastating damages and loss of many lives. The full extent of the disaster is still being assessed and the death toll could rise. Some of our customers have send us warm words of encouragement for Japan and we are sincerely grateful to all of you ! Most railway services are returning normal in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and we conduct tours as usual. Meanwhile, we are looking forward to the beautiful autumn foliage season. The phenomenon of leaves changing color is called “koyo (red leaves)” and the koyo front is now sweeping down the archipelago from north to south, from high to low altitude areas. Autumn foliage has already started in the northern island of Hokkaido in mid-September and a few days ago, people were happy to enjoy “koyo hunting” in Nikko and Nasu, Tochigi prefecture, where the foliage will look the most impressive next week. The latest autumn foliage forecast has been released from the Japan Weather Association (autumn leaves foliage forecast 2019). Below are the expected dates of the best time to view colored foliage across Japan. According to the forecast, the season will arrive later than usual in vast zones of the northern part of the main island as well as some areas in western Japan. Click on the map below, which should work fine with google translate. It will give you real-time updates and links to further regional information. https://tenki.jp/kouyou/expectation.html

Lake Chuzenji, Nikko

Nasu Mountains, Nasu

updated on October 23, 2019