Formerly the imperial capital of Japan for more than one thousand years, the City of Ten Thousand Shrines is famous for its temples – especially so during the autumn foliage, when the temple gardens put on a spectacle of colours that is quite probably unique in the world. This season, we went to Kyoto to check it out for ourselves, and we weren’t disappointed!
Night illumination at Kiyomizu-dera.
Illuminated umbrellas scattered throughout the bamboo forest at Kodaiji temple.
The Fushimi Inari Taisha, where paths up the mountain lead through thousands of torii gates. In autumn, the orange of the gates is complemented by the colour of the leaves fallen on the ground.
Trees changing colour at the Tofukuji temple – who needs tempera when you can paint with autumn leaves?
A zoomed-in view of a pond at the Hogonin temple in Arashiyama shows fallen leaves floating on the surface, while the water reflects an image of the red maple trees above in the late afternoon light.
A small traditional building on the grounds of the Tofukuji temple, framed by autumn-coloured leaves.
Night illumination at the Kodaiji temple.
A large boulder covered in fallen leaves at the Hogonin temple in Arashiyama.
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