The 10 Best Places to See Autumn leaves in Kyushu, Japan!

As for seeing Autumn leaves, you can feel the beautiful autumn in Japan. You can see the colorful moutains. Why do autumn leaves attract us so much? In Kyushu, they have many places to see wonderful autumn leaves. This time, we’ll introduce the 10 best places to see autumn leaves you want to visit many times in Kyushu. The awesome sceneries attracting you must be your tresure.

Komyozenji Temple

Komyozenji,built in 1273, belongs to Rinzaishu Tofukuji Temple faction. With Saihoji Temple in Kyoto, it’s famous for the moss garden. It’s located by Dazaifu Tenmangu and Kyushu National Musium, but the people away from Fukuoka don’t know about the temple, one of the best spots for autumn leaves so much.

Most of all, we recommend to see the traditional Japanese dry landscape garden. They have 2 kinds of gardens: the front garden representing light with 15 stones and the back garden representing the sea and water with white sand, and the land and the island with 49 kinds of moss. Especially in autumn, the collaboration of moss and Momiji at “Ittekikaitei” is awesome. The best time for autumn leaves is from the middle of November to the end of November. Rhododendron in spring and fresh green in summer are fabulous, too! You should visit there.

Yabakei

“Yamakei” is a valley located in the upstream and the middle stream of Yamakuni River in Nakatsu-shi. The valley is between Honyabakei-cho, Yabakei-cho, and Yamaguni-cho. Note that they have 4 Yabakeis: Honyabakei, Urayabakei, Shinyabakei, and Okuyabakei.

Usually from the beginning of November, you can see rugged misterious rocks with red and yellow autumn leaves. They have a nice observatory and some restaurants around there. At peak time of autumn leaves, It’s so crowded, but the scenery is worth seeing.

Gokase Keikoku

A small town, Gokase-cho is located between mountains next to the border of Kumamoto-ken and Takachiho-cho. Gokase Vally is one of the best spots for autumn leaves in Miyazaki, the upstream of Gokase River. Long time ago, the hot lava flow in Aso flew to Gokase River,cooled suddenly, and turned into Gokase Valley. At the valley with a lot of nature, you can usually enjoy autumn leaves from the end of October to the beginning of November.

Around there, they have a 60m hight fall. The wonderful scenery of the valley, autumn leaves, and the fall is worth seeing. In the beginning of November every year, they have “Shirataki Momiji Festival”. Many tourists go to the festival: they sell the rocal products and have a Michitsuki competition. In Takachiho-cho next to Gokase-cho, they have famous Takachiho Valley(10-min. by car). It may be a good idea to compare some different autumn leaves scenery.

Tokaen

Tokaen is a Japanese garden, located in Kawakami Valley called “Arashiyama in Kyushu”. They have about 60000 square meters, and there we can feel the four seasons, rhododendron in spuring, fresh green in summer, autumn leaves in autumn, and snow in winter. Tokaen is open only in spring and autumn. If you can go there, you can have a quite precious experience.

The best time for autumn leaves is from the middle of November to the beginning of December. You should visit one of the best spots for autumn leaves in Kyushu.

Unzendake

In 1934, with Setonaikai Kirishima, Unzen was desinated as the first national park in Japan. Mitsubatsutsuji in spring and Miyakakirishima there are famous, and Unzen is the most famous plase for seeing autumn leaves in Kyushu. Although you can see the wonderful autumn leaves from the parking area in Nita Moth, you can see more panoramic scenery from the end of Unzen Ropeway, Myomidake with 1333m hights.

Around Unzen, it’s said that they have 120 kinds of plants which changes their color in autumn. You can see the beautiful guraduation of autumn leaves from the ropeway. From the observatory in the peak, you can overlook Shimabara Peninsula and the autumn leaves of Kominekaede, Dodantsutsuji, and Urikaede under your eyes. In a sunny day, you can enjoy the fabulous scenery of Amakusa Islands and Kirishima. How about visiting there?

Shugetsu-jo ato

Shugetsu is located 20-min. by car from the center of Asakura-shi. Shugetsu is called “Little Kyoto in Chikuzen”, and has prospered as a castle town of Shugetsu Castle where the late lords lived. The old cityscape is still there, and Shugetu is selected as a preservation area of important traditional buildings.

The peak time is from the end of November to the begining of December, and then many tourists go to enjoy seeing autumn leaves every year. How about seeing autumn leaves in a historical spot?

Kyusuikei

At Kyusuikei where you can see about 2km dinamic cliff, the hairpin curves called “Jusan(13) Magari(curve)” continue. In the beautiful valley made by the flow from Kuzu River, the native forest of fir, zelkova, and Itayakaede(maple) is spreding. It’s famous for the fresh green in summer and the autumn leaves in autumn.

The view from the observatory in the ridge is awesome. Also, you can see the fabulous scenery from “Kokonoe Dream big suspension bridge” close to the observatory. The bridge with 390m length and 173m hights is for walkers. Although it’s so high, you may forget the fear by seeing the scenery around there. Moreover, They have Kyusuikei Hotspring and Sennokuchi Hotspring. We recommend you enjoy the autumn leaves with hot springs in Kyushu!

Takachiho-kyo

“Takachiho-kyo” is an about 8km canyon with colmnar cliffs that the volcanic eruption from Mt. Aso flowed along Gokase River long time ago, and was cooled suddenly. In 1934, it was designated as a natural monument of scenic beauty in Japan, and it’s a typical scenic spot in Miyazaki.

The best time for the autumn leaves is from the middle of November to the end of November. From the middle of November to the beginning of February, they have Night Kagura(sacred music and dancing performed at shrine) in Takachiho. In Kyushu, it is only Takachiho that you can see the traditional Kagura with the awesome scenery. How about feeling the beauty?

Gokanosho

Gokanosho is the generic of 5 areas, Kyurenko, Shiibara, Nitao, Haki, Momiki, surrounded by 1300~1700m level hight mountains. The mountainous area is called unexplored area, and it is said that Gokanosho is the place where the refugees from Heike drifted to.

You can usually see autumn leaves from the end of October to the middle of November. Then, they have autumn leaves festival, too. You should visit there if you want to enjoy autumn leaves in Kyushu area!

Kirishima Jingu

Kirishima Jingu is a shrine since 6th century. They deify the main character of the constitutional myth, Niniginomikoto. You should see the scenery of 800 years old cedar Kamiki, and the bright red shrine, and the colorful autumn leaves around there.

You can enjoy the autumn leaves from the middle of November to the end of November. Also, the cherry blossoms in spring and Miyama Kirishima in summer are awesome. It’s an autumn leaves seeing spot in Kyushu that you should visit.

Let’s go to see the vivid colored autumn leaves in Kyushu!

How do you like the spots? The autumn leaves changes their color differently accoding to the climate and the temperature, so you can see many kinds of autumn leaves at the same place. So, you must be moved by the beauty of autumn leaves again, even if you went there once. You should visit these places to enjoy colorful autumn leaves when you go sightseeing in Kyushu!