Today, we’re in Tokyo to see a colorful array of autumn leaves floating just above some goldfish. It’s a centuries-old tradition in Japan to wander through gardens and forests while taking in the show of colorful leaves. The Japanese call it "koyo" or "momiji-gari," terms which literally mean "hunting red leaves." The autumn colors of Japanese maples, ginkgoes, and other native trees first come to the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, usually in early October, then move slowly southward until they reach the rest of the island nation. The leaf-peeping season is as popular in Japan as the springtime cherry blossom season—both phases of the year are rhapsodized over as symbols of the transient nature of life.
Red-leaf hunting in Japan
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Folegandros Island, Cyclades, Greece
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Galeries Lafayette, Paris
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The old guard at Old San Juan
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Illuminating Annecy
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Frog Month
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A cry for independence
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Venice by night
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And you thought moths were boring
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A personal collection becomes an institution
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International Jazz Day
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Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn, New York
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Village of Santa Maddalena, Dolomites, Italy
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Wahclella Falls, Oregon
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Cheers! It’s National Wine Day
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Summer winds down in the Hamptons
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A species no longer at risk
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New Orleans for Mardi Gras
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Mitsumata blossoms
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Welcome to the Hoh
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1, 1, 2, 3: It s Fibonacci Day!
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Brown bears, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska
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Joshua Tree National Park, California
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I see one!
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The buzz about bees
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Construction workers resting above Manhattan
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Batten down the hatches
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Yosemite National Park anniversary
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San Francisco Bay salt flats
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Mountain goats
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A wheatear in Peak District National Park, England
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

