Enchanting autumn scene of Nishizawa Valley with waterfalls, foliage, and serene atmosphere in Japan.
Discover the serene beauty of Nishizawa Valley in autumn.

Shosenkyo & Nishizawa Valley in Autumn

This is the perfect opportunity for me to go to Yamanashi Prefecture where I spotted two beautiful valleys: Shosenkyo Valley and Nishizawa Valley.

Japanese people are really specific about each season of the year. In autumn, the autumn leaf colour are no doubt everyone’s main point of interest! All the weather forecasts on TV or online are adapted to provide real-time information on the autumn leaf colour status across the country, using photo and live cameras. This is the perfect opportunity for me to go to Yamanashi Prefecture where I spotted two beautiful valleys: Shosenkyo Valley and Nishizawa Valley. A rental car is booked in Kofu and I am ready for this colourful adventure.

PS: This article was originally published 2 years ago on the french version of Totoro Times. But oh, well, I don’t think it changed much since then, so please enjoy this article!

Shosenkyo Valley - Path

The trip started with a short tour of Shosenkyo to locate the best view point. I eventually stopped at a parking near the main entrance (didn’t knew there was one!). The parking has a very Japanese way of charging its customers; I had to spend at least 1000 yens at the shop to which the parking lot belongs. This kind of parking areas sometimes belong to restaurants as well, you are then forced to eat if you want to park next to beautiful places.

I first visited the waterfall of Shosenkyo. It is magnificent! I actually spent more time fighting with the other tripods around me than enjoying the view. Amazing, just when you think that you discovered a new place, there are always photographers faster than you. 🙂

Not far away form it was another waterfall. It is very small and narrow, could be easily overlooked.

chubu, japan, japanese, natural, nature, waterfall, yamanashi

Many 1 cent coins are found on top of each other between the rocks. Are they offerings? The sight a everyone stop and look… and sometimes participate 😉 That’s possibly how it got started.

Shosenkyo Valley

A cable car can take you at the top of Shosenkyo-Mitake. The ascent to the highest point turned out to be quite dangerous, especially considering the Japanese standards. If you look too much to one side, you will find yourself rolling down the Shosenkyo valley. If you look at the other, you would throw yourself to Kofu city in front of the majestic Fuji-san.

Shosenkyo Mitake Tree

There are so many good opportunities to photograph Mount Fuji from here, but it is also way more difficult than expected. Colored leaves are rather difficult to find here (a bit too early maybe?) and it is very hard to find stable positions to shoot.

Shosenkyo Mitake Purple

On the way back to Kofu, I stopped in the middle of nowhere to enjoy this panorama with Mount Fuji overlooking the city.

Mount Fuji

Kofu is a city famous for its wine. They want to create their own “Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC)” which would be the first for Japanese wine! The city is twinned with Pau (but shouldn’t they have choose another city? we are here in the Japanese Alps and Pau is the French’s Pyrénées!), and also with Chengdu in China! Ha, that brought back good memories.

Kofu City

Nishizawa Valley is located much further in a different direction from Shosenkyo. Upon arrival, the sight is breathtaking. Autumn leaves are beautiful here, the coulour so alluringly rich.

Nishizawa Yellow Trees

The hike was difficult, the mountain was quite steep, luckily the scenery was amazingly beautiful.

Nishizawa On Fire

After falling a few times, I regained stabilization to take pictures from the middle of a stream. For the first time, I truly understand the difficulties but also the pleasure of photographing natural landscape!

Nishizawa Magic Lake

Here is how the “path” looks like. We are not alone! There are many more visitors here than in Shosenkyo.

Only the noise of the torrent can be heard. No pets, no birds, no insects, the freshness scareed everyone and everything off.

Nishizawa River Down

Higher up, there are waterfalls. And soon, we’ll get to the point of interest…

Nishizawa Yellow Leaves

Here is Nanatsugama Godan no Taki. A beautiful waterfall of 7 steps !

autumn, chubu, japan, japanese, natural, nature, waterfall, yamanashi

The hike is not finished yet, as we decided to go back to the car park by taking a different route.

I’m glad I have participated in the autumn rite this year, both for the pictures I took and the happiness of a refreshing hike. Going back to Tokyo now, the head full of colored leaves!

And for more awesome content about Japan, follow Jordy Meow on Instagram ! 🎵

commentaires

  • Hi Jordi thanks for accepting my request! I have a lots of questions about a little trip around Shosenkyo and Nishizawa, because I’ll stay near Mt. Fuji and want to travel then to Nishizawa Valley but I don’t know how can I search for information about the city or hotel (or Ryokan) there. Can you help me or send me some clues to plan such a trip. Thank you my name is Ara Limón from Mexico.
    You can write me in English or French. Good luck!

Who Am I

Jordy Meow
This is me!

I am Jordy Meow, a French photographer based in Tokyo. I explore offbeat places in Japan.

Instagram

Vermilion whispers, Floating over blue embrace— Spirit’s quiet dance.  朱色の囁き、 青の抱擁に浮かぶ— 静かな霊の舞。  #Itsukushima #Miyajima #Hiroshima #torii #floatinggate #offbeatjapan #japan
Golden skies embrace, Waves whisper secrets to cliffs— Twilight's gentle kiss. ---黄金の空 波が崖にささやく— 黄昏の優しいキス ---#sunsetmagic #coastaldreams #explorejp #serenebeauty #oceanglow #offbeatjapan #japan
White forms dance skyward, Green mountains cradle the art, Under cloud-kissed blue. 白い形空へ舞う、 緑の山が芸術を抱き、 雲にキスした青の下で。#sculptureart #japaneseart #naturemeetsart #modernsculpture #offbeatjapan #japan #travelphotography
Darkened stalls await, Whispers of daikagura, Colors in silence. 暗い屋台、 大神楽の囁き、 色の静寂。#offbeatjapan #japan #daikagura #festivalmood #moodytones #wanderlust #hiddenjapan #haiku
Stone pagoda stands, Cosmos in bloom, moon above— Tranquil whispers hum. ---石塔立つ コスモス咲き、月上に— 静寂の囁き ---#offbeatjapan #japan #explorejapan #hiddenjapan #naturephotography #pagoda #serenity #cosmosflowers
Electric rivers, Neon veins pulse through the night— Silent power flows. 電気の川 夜に脈打つネオン— 静かな力が流れる #industrialjapan #neonlights #japanbynight #technologymagic #urbanreflections #offbeatjapan #japan
Scarlet gates basking, Lanterns whisper in the night— Ancient spirits glow. 朱色の鳥居 夜に囁く灯籠 古の魂光る #offbeatjapan #japan #torii #nightmagic #kyoto #shinto #lanternlight #sacredpathway
Blue neon whispers, Winter's glow on sacred paths— Snow dreams softly fall. 青いネオン 聖なる道に舞う、 雪の夢。 #offbeatjapan #japan #neonatnight #winterinJapan #snowyscenes #japanphotos #urbanmagic