Japan Fall Color Tour

Last weekend, Michael and I took an impromptu trip up to Nikko. First, let me give you a little background. Last Fall, we were determined to visit Nikko. We were freshly arrived in Japan and excited to venture out of the big city. Everyone we talked to raved about Nikko - it is beautiful, cooler weather than Tokyo, and the Fall colors are out of this world. We booked a hotel in Nikko for an upcoming long weekend, but on the Friday before we were supposed to leave, Michael called me from work to say a new project had come up, and he was going to have to work the weekend. Big bummer.

Undeterred, we booked again, for a different weekend. And yet again, Michael's work picked up (at the last minute) and we had to cancel. All in all we canceled three trips to Nikko last Fall before we gave up. Nikko was clearly not meant to be.

This year, we decided to give Nikko one last shot. Michael's big project of the summer was winding down, so the chances of a last minute weekend working were slim - so we bit the bullet and booked a hotel (but a different one from last year - we're pretty sure we are blacklisted at the one from Fall 2008).

This time our trip worked out and boy are we glad we went. As luck would have it we hit the peak of the Fall colors, and had beautiful weather. I'll post more pictures from the trip in the coming week, but here are a few pictures of the leaves in the meantime.