Why October beats November for Japan's Autumn Colours
Head north for the perfect fall foliage spot
Hello Insiders!
In this month’s edition:
Northern Japan’s epic autumn leaves destination
A mega airline deal for domestic travel
What to do when Kyoto hotels are all booked up
What is the “Insider Advantage”?
Where to go this month
With the cooler temperatures, we also get the second major display of natural entertainment: the autumn leaves. Most people time their visit to catch these autumn colours in November. But for my destination pick this month, you need to head there in the second half of October.
Oirase Gorge and Lake Towada in Aomori Prefecture are stunningly beautiful any time of year, but when you add in fiery reds and deep oranges, you’ve got the perfect place to savour this season. The centrepiece here is a winding river set deep in thick forests, punctuated by epic waterfalls. It’s easy to enjoy this feast up close from the walking trail right next to the river, and if you don’t want to cover the whole 9km/5.6mi course, you can just hop on the next bus.
To properly appreciate this spot, I highly recommend staying overnight at Lake Towada. It’s one of the most peaceful places in all Japan, especially after 5pm when all the tour buses have gone home. There are accommodation options to fit all budgets, including an excellent onsen hotel (the hot spring is also open to non-guests, for a small fee). Autumn colours peak in the second half of October, though depending on the year’s weather they might come a bit sooner or later.
Transport tip: Buses to Oirase Gorge run from Aomori and Hachinohe, both stations on the Tohoku Shinkansen. The bus is much quicker from Hachinohe, and requires reservations. From Aomori, you don’t need to book, but queue up early to get a nice seat on the bus.
Koyo Walker: Find the best autumn colours across the country at a glance.
Search Accommodation at Lake Towada
Offers and Discounts
If you’re travelling over the coming months and don’t fancy paying for the newer, expensive Japan Rail Pass, I recommend looking into using the budget airlines. Peach not only has an extensive domestic network, but it seems to be constantly running a campaign this year. Currently it’s offering up to 2,500 yen off if 2 more people are travelling. And it also has a 3 day sale (running October 1st-3rd) on most of its domestic routes. If that doesn’t help you, don’t worry - there’ll be another campaign along soon, I’m sure. Don’t forget to check your route and dates with a flight search engine, because there’s often considerable variation in prices.
ALSO CONSIDER: The much better value regional JR Passes
WATCH: The SECRET to Cheaper Japan Travel: Budget Airlines
Travel Pro Tip
Find (cheaper) accommodation at busy times in Kyoto
As we’re approaching one of the busiest periods of tourism, you might run into problems finding accommodation, especially in popular destinations like Kyoto. But just because you want to visit Kyoto, doesn’t mean you need to stay there!
If places are booked out or just way too expensive, my go-to alternatives are all in Shiga Prefecture, around 15-20 minutes away on the train (look at Otsu or Kusatsu to the east). Osaka is a little further away (about 30 minutes on JR’s fastest local train) and usually has many more places to stay.
Compare hotels in Otsu / Kusatsu / Osaka
The Insider Advantage
Over on YouTube I try to answer as many questions from viewers as I can. You might wonder why! It helps that I’m a complete travel freak, and if I don’t know something, I want to find out. But the truth is that one of the main reasons for me starting the channel (and this email) was to share my (extensive/excessive) travel experience in Japan. I really love helping people with their trips!
One of the biggest benefits (I think) of joining the Insider email list is that you can get in touch with me directly. If you have some ideas for future emails or videos, let me know by replying to this email. But with specific questions, I’m offering Insiders like you a special perk. You’re welcome to ask me questions, as long as you’re happy with me answering them all together in a video.
For now the video will be available to everyone, but only Insiders (when you’re subscribed to this email) can ask questions. Let me know what’s on your mind!
That’s all for this month! See ya!
Andrew
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Came across you on YouTube today Andrew. Great information about Airalo, thanks. I will definitely be going that way when I travel to Japan later this year. Might even get one of the Asia regional eSims as we will be in Japan for 2 weeks, then South Korea for another week.