Autumn colours in Shinjuku

Last part of my “autumn colours” series 😉
Today I went to Shinjuku Gyoen, which is often recommended as a good place to watch cherry blossoms. Unsurprisingly, it’s also one of the best parks to see the autumn colours.
I went there before my JLPT course (which is the last session before the actual test) so I only had about an hour to walk through the park.

I took about 150 photos and deleted half of them afterwards. My favourite spot was around the ponds – there was almost no wind blowing to disturb the water and the reflection of the trees.

While I was asked more than once whether I’m working as a professional photographer (just because I’m using a DSLR!), my equipment pales in comparison with what many elderly Japanese were carrying around. DSLRs mounted on tripod with lenses that were suitable to photograph a single leaf from a 850 meter distance.

However, some people only needed a canvas, a brush and a palette.

Heiwa no Mori autumn colours

So far I have been to a lot of places to watch the autumn leaves but one place I haven’t visited so far is “Heiwa no Mori” (peaceful forest). Which is kind of weird considering it’s only a two minute walk from my apartment. Despite the name, there are not many trees in the park but a few of them are showing beautiful-coloured leaves.

I think the park also serves as an evacuation area, I guess. There is a big area which is free of trees and used by the locals for various activities or just to relax. It’s also a good place for joggers and there are some gears for the warm-up.

Autumn in Inokashira Park

Time for another re-visit: I’ve seen the cherry blossoms in Inokashira Park earlier this year so I had to see the autumn colours. Unfortunately, there wasn’t that much to see although the park is always worth a visit.

I’m especially fond of the shopping street leading to the park which reminds me of Shimokitazawa, another favourite area of mine. This is the “soul” of this area and I could probably spend quite a long time just checking out the stores. However, the more reasonable side of me wonders why one should wear a warm hat together with a flimsy top and a short skirt (left) or horrible pants to an old-fashioned hat (right). I didn’t ask if a golf club is included with the latter outfit – otherwise it would just look ridiculous 😉

Back to the park: Dawn was already setting in, so it was hard to get good photos. There were only a few couples in the park and as I mentioned before, the autumn leaves season seems to be over – at least in this park.

Rikugien Light-up Event

Yoyogi Park was great but the most spectacular sites are located at the “Light up” events. Some parks in Japan are doing this during the autumn leaves season and are open until 9 PM or later. In terms of quantity, those parks have fewer trees than e.g. Yoyogi Park. That’s why they use lights to present the trees they have – and call it a “Light up” event 😉

Rikugien is a park located near Komagome station on the Yamanote line. I’ve visited this park before near the end of the cherry blossom season. With the lights and the coloured leaves, it looked different of course. I took over one hundred pictures – not because it was so beautiful (although it was) but because I forgot to bring a tripod with me.

Luckily there were some things which I could use as a tripod replacement, so I was able to get a few good shots without using a high ISO number. Of course there were lots of Japanese better prepared than I was but then there were also lots of people trying to use their cell phone camera!

Autumn colours in Yoyogi Park

They say that the best seasons to visit Japan are spring and fall. Last year I arrived in time for the last days of the cherry blossoms and only had little time to photograph the leaves in autumn (Momiji). This year I’ve got more time and so I went to Yoyogi Park today.

There were quite a few people taking photos of the yellow, green and red coloured trees. The most spectacular ones were like spots among ordinary ones or trees which had already lost most of their leaves. But entrance is free so there’s really no reason to complain 🙂

I also took a few videos with the iPhone camera. They are ok for a cell phone camera but obviously don’t stand a chance if I compare them with my HD camera…

Berlin, Gardens of the World – Autumn Colors

Gardens of the World is in the Marzahn Recreational Park and used to be the Berlin Horticultural Show back in 1987. Horticultural shows have a long tradition in Germany, such as the bi-annual Bundesgartenschau. Extensive gardens are created or extended to attract tourists during such a show and unlike a trade show, the garden (or parts of it) usually remains.

True to its name, the Gardens of the World contains various gardens in different styles. There is a Chinese, Korean and Japanese garden, an oriental garden as well as others.

In Autumn, the Japanese and Korean garden offer a spectacular sight as the leaves turn red or golden.

The opening times for the theme gardens may differ from the opening times of the Gardens of the World. The latter is open from 9am until 4pm (November to February), 6pm (March, October) and 8pm (April to September). The bus line 195 stops at “Erholungspark Marzahn”.