The beautiful Kōrankei Valley (香嵐渓). The leaves are so gorgeous, they can't help but admire themselves in the water.

Korankei is one of the most famous areas to see autumn leaves in this area. Occasionally it even makes national lists. It is a nature valley near Toyota City. It's beautiful year-round, but especially so in Autumn when the entire valley turns red, yellow, and various shades of orange.

Wonderful place, but often packed with tourists from all over Japan. There are only two roads into the valley, so unless you get there early you are looking at a traffic jam at least an hour or longer. My strategy is to catch the very first bus of the day at 5am, and so beat the rush. Yeah, it's early and that means I have to wake up around 4 or 430, but waiting much longer than that means sitting in traffic, so it's an easy choice.

And it's worth it! Just look at those leaves!

David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku.

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