Hanamikoji street in kyoto, with trees and wooden houses
Kyoto is the ideal place for momijigari, the search for perfectly bronze autumn foliage.
Photography by Mark Parren Taylor

Photo story: autumn leaf-peeping season in Kyoto

Kyoto is a treasure house of ancient Japanese culture and arts, and in the Autumn its iconic gardens — some dating back five centuries — shine in the soft sunlight, making the city’s temples, gardens and historical lanes more alluring than ever

ByMark Parren Taylor
Photographs byMark Parren Taylor
September 29, 2023
5 min read
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).
A Geiko walking in Hanamikoji Street
A walkway lined with overhanging trees
Hanamikoji Street runs through Gion district like a golden thread running through woven silk. 
Lined with wooden townhouses, Gion has long been Kyoto’s principal kagai (flower town), where geishas — here known as geikos — entertain. 
Around Hanamikoji’s backlanes, the sounds of musical recitals and witty chat emanate from discreet teahouses, and you might even pass a geiko as she hurries between appointments. 
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor (Top) (Left) and Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor (Bottom) (Right)
A river and gardens in a temple in Kyoto
Gardeners have long practised their art in Kyoto, too, and temples across the city are often known for their gardens, above all else. 
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
Moss samples in a display in a temple
These range from the splendid ‘borrowed landscape’ of Kinkaku-ji, Kyoto’s Golden Pavillion temple [opposite], to moss-carpeted Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion temple, where a display shows a small, important sample of the hundred-plus varieties of moss in its gardens. 
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
a column scattered with coins at a buddhist temple
At the city’s oldest Zen Buddhist temple, Kennin-ji, a commemorative column is scattered with fallen maple leaves and votive coins left by the faithful as an offering.
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
Red leaves in Japan
Hunting for red leaves, especially for bronze and crimson maple leaves 
— called momiji in Japan — is so popular in autumn that the pastime has a name: momijigari.
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
locals in the Ginkaku-ji gardens
Ginkaku-ji’s temple gardens are one of the best places in Kyoto for this seasonal glory, and locals like to take strolls under the clouds of copper and golden leaves wearing autumnal-design kimonos.
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
Steps leading up to the Kiyomizu-dera temple
Momijigari has a long history, dating back to the eighth century, when Kiyomizu-dera temple was established. The climb up to the stilted main hall and nearby pagoda is worth every step for the views west across Kyoto. 
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
A tap in a temple in Kyoto
Climbers cleanse their hands at the font on the way. The temple’s name means ‘pure water’; a few sips at its Otowanotaki waterfall are rumoured to bring health, longevity and good fortune. 
Photograph by Mark Parren Taylor
Published in the Japan supplement, distributed with the October 2023 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK).

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