November 30th was my first full day in Kyoto. I went to three temples on what is called the Philospher’s Walk, after Nishida Kitaro of Kyoto University who used to walk this route regularly. Luckily for me, it was a perfect time of year to be in Kyoto for the changing leaves. Like the cherry blossoms in the spring, getting out to see the fall colors is hugely popluar with Japanese people. There were thousands of tourists and more than 19 out of every 20 were Japanese. The gardens at Nanzen-ji temple were terriffic. The Japanese Maple Trees were in full color.

Eikan-do Temple is especially popular for it’s landscape gardens this time of year. At the end of the walk is the Ginkaku-ji temple which may have been my favorite. Many people were taking close-up shots of the leaves, but I thought the view from the hill-side was great as well. Here was a little ravine where the leaves were falling with the breeze. I had a lot of trouble making these photos look real without unnaturally subduing the colors. They still need some work.