Japanese Autumn in Switzerland

With this tiny courtyard style garden, we’ve endeavored to create our own little corner of Japan in Switzerland. Some of the (smaller!) plants have come directly from Japan with us. And the Japanese maple (right) and Doudantsutsuji (center) are obliging with beautiful autumn foliage – perfect for a little bit of leaf viewing!

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Last autumn greetings (Picture Book)

The season is fast coming to a close and I promise to those getting terribly bored of tinted leaves that this is my last post on them (for this year). But I just couldn’t resist sharing some more impressions from our stay in Kyoto last week!

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Autumn in Kyoto (Picture Book)

While Kyoto lacks the consistent good weather and mild temperatures of late autumn in Tokyo, autumn in the setting of Japan’s old capital is infused with the special Kyoto magic. If you can look past or avoid the crowds it attracts, autumn in Kyoto is a wonderful experience.

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Another Autumn in Tokyo (Picture Book)

It’s again this time of year when much of Europe labors under grey fog, rains and first snows while around Tokyo, the skies are a brilliant blue day after day and crowds take to the gardens for a picnic under the fiery blaze of the autumn leaves. Just like I never tire of looking at the cherry blossoms, I return year after year to admire the autumn palette of the filigree of maple leaves against the autumn skies.

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Autumn in Tokyo (Picture Book)

We’re back in Tokyo, and this is the reason why it’s a good idea to come in this season: autumn leaves! It’s not quite at the level of the cherry bloom, but the run to parks and gardens (armed with heavy photographic equipment) is considerable.

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The Essence of Autumn (Picture Book)

Red autumn leaves, in Japan almost synonymous to red maple leaves, are almost as important as cherry blossoms.
There are many trees that look beautiful in autumn, especially from far. But seen from close, nothing can compare to the delicate filigree of leaves of the Japanese maple, the incomparable color gradients found on a single tree or even a single leaf, and the graceful lines of its individual leaves. An autumnal maple tree can be many things: a colored spot on a mountain flank, a sky full of yellow stars, a feast of colors. But it is always a thing of exquisite and ephemeral beauty. Whether it shines in strong, glowing colors on a sunny day or shows itself in muted tones on an overcast, dewy morning.
Like the years before, I went, camera in hand, in search of the essence of autumn.

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Momiji (紅葉) – Enchanted Autumn Leaves

The expression 紅葉 – literally red leaves – can denote two things: the Japanese maple tree and tinted autumn leaves.

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