We left of pretty early today at 3:00 am from the New Miyako Hotel and destinations were Nijo Castle, Enryaku-ji, and Takao. When we were heading for Nijo Castle, Miyako explained to me why we left off at 3 am. It is because the momiji, or autumn foliage, are best viewed when it is dark and not much people are around. I asked her if we are allowed to enter at this time. She said that we have a special pass, which made me realise why this tour is so expensive.
When we arrived at Nijo Castle, we saw the large moat that surrounded it. As we entered the main gate, I felt really excited when I saw the crimson trees. We entered the Ninomaru Palace through the karamon. I felt so amazed by the crimson foliage in it's garden. I thought the Ninomaru Palace was already the main castle, but Miyako showed me the way to the actual main castle. This place is not like how I pictured it before for it was way huge. I felt like going samurai again because of the falling leaves and all the wonderful shit that's in here. We stayed there until sunrise but I was never bored. The next stop was Enryaku-ji. It lies on high ground on Mt. Hiei. The autumn air was really fresh and I just felt like going Shugendo. The trees looked like they were bleeding and the mist just makes it all look unbelievable. We were really hungry so we ate at this place beside the temple. I wasn't able to understand what the name said but I was able to read "soba" in the name. I guess that explains why we were served soba. After Enryaku-ji, we headed towards Takao, which is a thinly populated, mountainous region of Kyoto that lies to the north of the Arashiyama district. Takao offers visitors scenic natural landscapes, and is known throughout Japan as a site for viewing the autumn leaves. In my opinion, this is the best place to shoot the Japanese version of Twilight. We started in Kouzan-ji, where you can see Japan's first tea plantation and FIRST MANGA. Walking around Kouzan-ji, I enjoyed the wonderful colours of the trees. We then bought some ice cream and headed for Saimyo-ji. When we got there, I just felt like flipping out and killing people (in a good way). I was mad-driven by the trees. Autumn is just my favourite season. This place is just like Tagaytay with autumn trees.
All along this road,
the first leaf has fallen since
the Bloom of Crimson
After such a great time momiji viewing, we headed back to the New Miyako Hotel.
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