The fall colors have arrived near the summit of Mt. Norikura at the tree line (around 2,300 meters).

With this summer’s extremely hot weather and little rain, a lot of people were worried about how the autumn leaves would turn out, but it seems like the scenery in Norikura is as beautiful as ever! In the mountains, the fall colors truly go by in a flash, so you’ll want to make sure you go head up to Norikura soon before they’re gone. The best time will probably be from this week to the end of next weekend (around the summit, at least). Let’s hope there isn’t a cold spell that will knock the leaves down sooner…

This photo is from the parking lot in front of Daisekkei looking toward the north. You can see Mt. Yari and the Hotaka Mountains in the distance. The whole side of the mountain looked like a palette of colors!

This photo was taken near the Kuraigahara Hut at 2,350 meters, where every year the Erman’s birches paint the mountain in a carpet of yellow color. From here, it’s not too far to the peak.

This is the view of the Fujimisawa from above. The trail to Mt. Norikuradake runs through this little valley, so if you walk along the trail here, you’ll really be able to enjoy the fall leaves! Around the road (for cars), the trees aren’t as pretty this year, so walking the trail is recommended for the best scenery.

This picture looks down at the curves on the Norikura Echo Line. Here, you can see a beautiful gradation of the green creeping pines that grow around the tree line, the yellow Erman’s birches, and the red Japanese rowans.

These are the brilliant red leaves of the Japanese rowan!

These pretty trees are located by the Reisen Hut on the Norikura Echo Line. If you get onto the hiking trail here from the road, you’ll find some particularly nice fall scenery.

Lastly, once you’ve had a full day of hunting for the best autumn views, you can stop by the Kuraigahara Hut for a cup of coffee. They also offer lunch and you can stay here overnight as well. There is a bus stop for the bus that runs back down to the Norikura Tourist Center in front of the hut.

For more information on Norikura, see the Norikura Highlands page. Also, don’t miss the Colors Watch page to stay updated on where and when you can see awesome fall scenery elsewhere in Matsumoto!