GPOD on the Road: Peak Autumn Foliage in Japan, Part 2

Peak autumn foliage. A brief context to set expectations.

Peak autumn foliage: Quick notes

Hi GPODers!

Day 2 of our week “On the Road” with GPOD and the second day we will be exploring the lush sites Bonnie Phipps Moninger from Boulder, Colorado experienced on her trip to Japan last fall. Yesterday we enjoyed the vibrant foliage and winding stone paths Bonnie saw in the Arashiyama district of Kyoto (Autumn Foliage in Japan, Part 1), and today we’re moving on to the serene temples she visited in the Gion district of Kyoto as well as lush gardens in the cities of Gifu and Nagano.

In November 2025, my husband and I traveled to Japan, hoping to witness the autumn foliage. We were fortunate to be there during the peak season! We dedicated a significant amount of time in Kyoto, exploring the smaller temples in Arashiyama as well as some of the larger ones near Gion. The Japanese invest considerable time, thought, and intention into the arrangement of trees, plants, rocks, and statues in their gardens, resulting in a stunning tapestry of shapes, textures, and colors. They are experts in using large rocks, Japanese lanterns, and intricate rock paths in their designs. These gardens, though they have been landscaped many years ago, look so natural. We were in awe throughout our entire stay. Below are some pictures of the gardens we visited.

Most of the pictures below (except for the last three) are from the temple gardens near the area of Gion, Kyoto. They are larger than in the Arashiyama area.

Nanzen-ji in Gion, is a large temple complex that has many sub-temples, all with beautiful gardens. This picture shows the massive gates to its central temple grounds. You could spend half a day here and not see it all. It was stunning.

Nanzen-ji Temple, Gion, Kyoto. Fall in its full glory.

Nanzen-ji Temple, Gion. A huge lily pond.

Nanzen-ji Temple, Gion. This temple and most others have open rooms to sit on the floor and look out at the meditative gardens. They really know how to frame them beautifully. They also frame their gardens in homes, hotels, and restaurants.

Enkoji Temple, Gion, Kyoto – founded in 1601. This was a small garden featuring rock gardens, dry landscapes, and paths that led through a small bamboo forest into the hills above for a view of the city.

On the way to the top of the Enkoji Temple grounds to see the city view.

Enkoji Temple, Gion, Kyoto

Yatsusankan Ryokan, Hida, Gifu. This was the place where we stayed in the mountains, which had beautiful gardens all around – lovely rocks, shrubs, and trees.

Yatsusankan Ryokan, Hida, Gifu. It must rain a lot in Japan, there is so much moss on everything, here and in Kyoto.

Shiojiri, Nagano – a small town in the mountains. This was someone’s front yard. I love the way the Japanese use large, unusual rocks in their gardens.

Thank you so much for sharing a slice of your one-in-a-lifetime trip with us, Bonnie! I don’t want to wish the growing season away, but you have me dreaming of fall weather and vibrant skylines… and a trip to Japan during the late season.

Are you planning any spring planting for fall foliage? While we anticipate spring’s flowers, we can also start planning and plotting our garden’s fall performance—and Bonnie just gave us some incredible inspiration. Let us know in the comments which plants you’re most excited about trying this year, or consider sharing photos of last year’s autumn colors. Follow the NEW directions below to submit your photos to Garden Photo of the Day!

We want to see YOUR garden!

Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!

To submit, fill out the Garden Photo of the Day Submission Form.

You can also send 5–10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

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