If you’re around Kyoto, it looks like this is the week to partake in viewing of autumn foliage. The Kyoto Shimbun’s autumn leaf tracking page lists almost all local areas as having reached the peak viewing time. Meanwhile other sites report that the trees at parks in central Tokyo will reach their peak this week or next week. For details on exact locations for good viewing, check out About.com’s reasonably good guide on the subject.

If you can’t make it to Kyoto this autumn, I recommend you get a copy of Autumn Colors of Kyoto: A Seasonal Portfolio, a new photo book that also contains guide maps and directions to the best autumn foliage locations in the city. It’s already available at stores in Japan with English language book sections, and it will go on sale in America sometime next summer. Those looking for English information on autumn foliage in the Tokyo area can find a bit of it in the Flower Lover’s Guide to Tokyo.

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