Visited in early Oct for peak koyo (fall foliage) at higher elevations. Norikura Kogen > Togakushi > Myoko Kogen > Yonako dual waterfalls in Suzaka > Yudanaka onsen
Norikura Kogen (乗鞍高原）
From late September onwards, fall foliage would commence its descend from 2700m. Took the only shuttle bus to Tatami-daira (terminal) 乗鞍畳平 and started descending along the main road, alongside with many others doing the same, while from time to time, there were cyclists ascending ! Though the fall foliage has passed its peak @2500-2600m, it has descended to 2000-2300m with vivid colours on the way. Took about 5 hrs to descend to Resenkoya @2100m, before jumping on shuttle bus to return to base @1400m. On next morning, prior to hiking up to the summit of Mt Norikura, the pension owner was so nice to drive me to nearby Ichinose area with beautiful pond and foliage reflections.
Hiking to Mt Norikura @3026m
Togakushi（戸隠）
Picked up a rental car near Nagano station and visited Kagami-ike (mirror pond) 鏡池 with reflections of Mt Togakushi. Fall foliage was probably about 30%. Walked part of the Togakushi-sando leading to Togakushi Jinja with a long boulevard of tall Japanese cedar trees (Sugi).
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