Season word · momiji · November · late autumn
Japanese maple 紅葉
Momiji is both the Japanese maple and the act of leaves turning red. The custom is older than the tree's fame: the Heian court went momiji-gari, leaf hunting, a thousand years ago. The colour front moves south for two months — Hokkaido in late September, the Alps in October, Kyoto in the last week of November.
Where to meet it
Everywhere in turn. On this site: the Autumn foliage page follows the front by date.
