Momijigari is the Japanese tradition of visiting areas where leaves have actually turned red in the fall.
November 29, 2021
Leaves have already dropped from the trees across much of the Northern Hemisphere, and once-colorful autumnal landscapes are starting to appear plain, bare, and even snow-covered as the season advances. However in Japan, some areas still showed autumnal color in late November 2021.
Prime autumn foliage in Japan normally reveals up first in Hokkaido, the nations northernmost region, where colorful leaves are generally completely display screen by mid- to late-September. In the nations more southern areas, vibrant foliage can persist into early December.
On November 29, 2021, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 obtained this natural-color image of north-central Kyushu, the most southerly of Japans four biggest islands. Vibrant vegetation shows up throughout the mountainsides and lowlands in Aso-Kuju National Park.
It is not possible to understand the precise sources of the color based upon this satellite image alone, but it is likely a combination of evergreens, deciduous trees, lawns, shrubs, and farming fields. Deciduous trees turn different tones of yellow, orange, and red; the regions turfs are known to turn a dazzling gold.
This fall, visitors were asked to avoid Mount Aso– the largest active volcano in Japan– after an eruption on October 20, 2021, sent out a plume of ash 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) high. As of November 18, the Japan Meteorological Agency was still asking individuals to remain at least 1 kilometer from the mountain.
The close-by Kuju Mountains might be a more secure place to see fall color this year. According to a Japan travel guide, this area “includes a number of mountains, and among them Mount Kuju is the most excellent one that uses you to see striking fall colors in the fall.”
Autumn leaves have actually been a part of Japanese culture for countless years, revealing up in poetry throughout the Nara period (710– 794), and looked for by typical people who journeyed to see them beginning in the middle of the Edo period (1603– 1868). Leaf peeping in Japan is known as Momijiari, which equates to “red leaf hunting.”
NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, utilizing Landsat information from the U.S. Geological Survey.
