Karuizawa’s autumn leaves in 2025 are some of the most colorful in recent years!

Karuizawa’s autumn leaves in 2025 are some of the most colorful in recent years!

Hello, this is Ichiro! 😊 Today, let’s enjoy the autumn foliage in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, one of Japan’s top vacation resort areas! Karuizawa is located at the southern foot of Mount Asama, which you can see directly ahead. Karuizawa, Hoshino Area Today, we’ll tour the Kyu-Karuizawa area, the observation deck, Shiraito Falls, and finally, we’ll explore the Hoshino area. As you can see, the autumn leaves are at their peak, so I’m excited! ✌️ Today, we’ll explore 10 famous autumn foliage spots in Karuizawa! The first spot is Kumoba Pond. Kumoba Pond is nearby, on the left. However, there is no parking near Kumoba Pond. We parked in a parking lot near the Kyu-Karuizawa Ginza Shopping Arcade. From here, it’s a 15-minute walk to Kumoba Pond. Tuesday, November 4, 2025 I’ll now be filming Kumoba Pond nonstop! Wow, the reflections are beautiful! 😃 There are ducks! 😊 Kumoba Pond is one of Karuizawa’s most scenic spots. It takes about 15 minutes to walk around Kumoba Pond. You can enjoy the beautiful scenery while walking. ✌️ The promenade is narrow, so we recommend exploring early in the morning when it’s less crowded. The autumn leaves in the villa’s garden are also beautiful✌️ Having a stream in the garden is so wonderful😃 The villa’s garden may even be more beautiful than Kumoba Pond😅 Karuizawa was developed by foreigners during the Meiji period, and many summer villas were built there. It is now one of Japan’s leading vacation resort areas. The villa area where I live in Lake Kawaguchi is on the mountain side, in a different area from the general residential area. But in Karuizawa, the entire town is a villa area, and it gives off a resort vibe. The colorful scenery is beautiful! 😊 The birdsong is lovely, too! ✌️ Kumoba Pond is a long, narrow pond stretching from north to south. This is the northern end of the pond. The rippling water is reflected on the tree trunks. 😃 Foreigners used to call this pond Swan Lake because swans used to fly into it. The swans have disappeared, and now ducks live here instead. The Enkianthus azalea along the promenade is also beautifully colored in autumn.✌️ Early in the morning, on the west side of the pond, you can enjoy the backlit scenery of the maples (the scenery seen from behind the autumn leaves).✌️ Amazing.😃 A gradation of orange.👍 I walked around Kumoba Pond. This is Kumoba Pond, Karuizawa’s most famous scenic spot. ✌️ Now, let’s head to St. Paul’s Church! It’s a 20-minute walk. Touring Karuizawa’s famous autumn foliage spots involves a lot of walking. It’s so much fun walking around, admiring the beautiful autumn foliage of villas and charming shops. ✌️ St. Paul’s Church Autumn ivy leaves! 👍 Many Japanese people hold church weddings even though they aren’t Christians. Actually, I’m one of them. This is an old story from 30 years ago. To get married at the church, I had to attend services there for three months. For three months, I went to services every week, listened to the pastor’s sermons, and sang hymns. Strangely enough, even now, 30 years later, I still remember the pastor’s humorous sermons and the hymns we sang accompanied by the pipe organ. I’m not religious, but churches still hold a special place in my heart. Cress Riverside Story Kyu-Karuizawa is a seven-minute walk from St. Paul’s Church. This cafe restaurant is famous for its moss garden. Mampei Hotel is a 20-minute walk from Cress Riverside Story Kyu-Karuizawa. This historic, classic hotel is also known as John Lennon’s regular summer lodging. Can you hear the sound of the broom sweeping up the fallen leaves? To allow you to enjoy the realistic sounds, I don’t add any background music to my videos. So when I hear the roar of the engine blower, I have to stop recording and wait for the cleaning to finish. For some reason, I don’t hear much of the roar of the engine blower in Karuizawa. For example, early mornings in Hakone during the autumn foliage season. The roar of the engine blower echoes through multiple facilities. I was enjoying my morning coffee listening to the birds chirping when the roar of the engine blower rang out. 😱 I love Hakone, but going during the autumn foliage season is a bit daunting. 😅 At Mampei Hotel, they sometimes use the engine blower, but depending on the time of day, they apparently use a broom instead. As expected of Mampei Hotel! 👍 With no waiting time for the engine blower, the video shoot went very smoothly. We’re now heading to the Old Usui Pass Observation Deck, a 10-minute drive away. We could walk there, but we’ll also be going to Shiraito Falls, so we’ll take the car. Further ahead is the Karuizawa Association Tennis Court, where the former Emperor and Empress Michiko fell in love. We turn right and head down Old Karuizawa Ginza Street. The red bus is a seasonal bus that goes to the observation deck. Many shops are still closed. The elevation of Usui Pass, visible ahead, is 1,200m. Karuizawa is 1,000m. Morning garbage collection is underway. This is Cress Riverside Story Kyu-Karuizawa, where we walked earlier. What a lovely drive through the autumn leaves! 👍 We’ve arrived at the parking lot. It’s a three-minute walk to the observation deck. You can see Mount Asama from the observation deck! This is also the border between Nagano and Gunma prefectures. Wow, bright red maple leaves and blue skies! 😃 Mount Asama saw its first snowfall today. Mount Myogi, known for its unusual rock formations. Kumano Kotai Shrine is a three-minute walk from the parking lot mentioned earlier. It is said to have been built by Emperor Yamato Takeru. The fresh floating flowers (hanachozu) is beautiful. 😊 The border between Nagano and Gunma prefectures runs through the center of this shrine’s approach and main hall. The sacred Shinano tree is over 1,000 years old. Various gods are enshrined within the grounds. There’s an “Anywhere Door.” A heart made of fallen leaves 🧡 It feels more like a mini amusement park than a shrine. 😅 Next, a 15-minute drive away, is the former Mikasa Hotel. After five years of extensive preservation and restoration work, the hotel finally reopened on October 1, 2025. Every time I passed by Mikasa Street, I wondered, “How long will this construction last?” The former Mikasa Hotel is visible on the right. I arrived at the free parking lot. Important Cultural Property: The Former Mikasa Hotel Admission is 1000 yen. Opened in 1906, the hotel is said to have hosted guests such as Eiichi Shibusawa, Nogi Maresuke, Puyi Aisin Gioro, and Empress Emerita Michiko, along with Westerners. It has been designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan as a representative example of Western architecture in modern Japan. It is currently owned by the Town of Karuizawa and managed by Hibiya Kadan. I was hoping for fresh flowers, since Hibiya Kadan maintains the building, but unfortunately, they’re artificial. 😅 A first-class hotel lobby would never be decorated with artificial flowers. 😱 This is the suite room. It’s quite moving to think that Eiichi Shibusawa, who is depicted on the 10,000 yen bill, stayed here. Let’s go up to the second floor! I had curry made with a reproduction of the original recipe. 😊 It was delicious👍 Eiichi Shibusawa might have eaten it too✌️ Next, Shiraito Falls. It’s a 15-minute drive to Shiraito Falls. To get to Shiraito Falls, you’ll need to take the Shiraito Highland Way, a toll road (500 yen). ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) is not accepted, so please bring cash. Shiraito Falls, Parking Lot (Free) It’s busier than I expected. 😅 Usually, when the autumn leaves in Karuizawa are at their peak, Shiraito Falls, located at a higher elevation, is past its peak. I didn’t stop here last year when I came to see the autumn leaves in Karuizawa. Today, the video shoot went surprisingly smoothly, so I’ll take a quick look at the waterfall. As expected, the leaves are falling, but the waterfall is still worth seeing. 👍 Like Kumoba Pond mentioned at the beginning, it was created by hand. It seems to be very popular with foreign tourists. Apparently, everything is man-made. By the way, Shiraito Falls in Shizuoka Prefecture is natural. The leaves are falling. You only pay the toll when entering the Shiraito Highland Way. After glimpsing the snow-capped Mt. Asama several times, we head for our final destination of the day: the Hoshino area! As we approached the Hoshino area, the autumn leaves became even more vibrant. By the way, bear attacks are occurring all over the country. However, in Karuizawa, where the forests inhabited by bears are nearby, there have been no attacks since 2011. They’ve apparently introduced bear dogs, improved trash cans, and conducted nighttime surveillance and repelling activities. They’ve achieved a rare “coexistence with bears” policy across Japan. Hoshino Area Parking Lot No. 6 (Free) Hoshino Resorts are dotted along the Yukawa River, offering a variety of activities, including day-trip hot springs, dining, shopping, and nature tours. First, head to the Keraike Pond Skating Rink upstream of the Yukawa River, then return here and head downstream to Harunire Terrace! Yukawa River is an absolute must-see in the Hoshino area🧡 It looks amazing against the blue sky👍 Village Cafeteria Hoshino Onsen “Tonbo no Yu” Autumn Leaves Library A bookshelf will be set up in the plaza from October 10th to November 16th. Keraike Pond Skating Rink Mount Asama Currently, half of the pond is frozen using a cooling system, but soon the entire pond will freeze naturally. We’ve returned to the Village Cafeteria. Let’s walk nonstop to Harunire Terrace! I hope you can feel like you’re actually walking around! 😊 Bus stop. This is where I started my stroll through the Hoshino area. The promenade continues along the Yukawa River to Harunire Terrace. Harunire Terrace The soba restaurant is always crowded. A “small town” of nine buildings connected by wooden decks, weaving through over 100 native Japanese elms along a clear stream. Harunire Terrace ends here. The last stop, Karuizawa Kogen Church, is located on this hill. Karuizawa Kogen Church is about a 10-minute walk from Harunire Terrace. It’s a lovely church, so it’s definitely worth visiting.✌️ Here, too, they use brooms instead of engine blowers.👍 We had to wait a bit, but today, we were able to see the exterior of the church during a break in the wedding ceremonies.✌️ Karuizawa Kogen Church with its triangular roof. This building was built as the pastor’s study, so it’s called the parsonage. I wish eternal happiness to all those who celebrated their weddings today. 🙏 This concludes this video. Today, we explored 10 famous autumn foliage spots in Karuizawa. I definitely want to come back next year! 🧡 Thank you for watching this video until the end. See you in the next video! 😊

On November 4th, we took a stroll around Karuizawa, where the autumn leaves were at their peak.
We started early in the morning at Kumoba Pond and headed to Mampei Hotel.
Afterwards, we drove around and explored the observation deck, Shiraito Falls, and the Hoshino area.
We were constantly moved by the beauty of the autumn leaves!
We were told that the colors were some of the best they’ve seen in recent years.

00:00 Opening
01:08 Chubu-Odan Expressway, Sakuho – Hoshino Area – Parking Lot (View from the Car Window)
02:51 Kumoba Pond
17:48 St. Paul’s Church
19:45 Cresson Riverside Story Old Karuizawa
21:40 Mampei Hotel
27:12 Old Usui Pass Observation Deck
33:00 Kumano Kotai Shrine
29:31 Old Mikasa Hotel
40:13 Shiraito Falls
43:45 Village Cafeteria – Hoshino Onsen “Tombo no Yu”
49:26 Keraike Pond Skating Rink
41:36 Village Cafeteria – Harunire Terrace
58:13 Karuizawa Kogen Church

Shooting date: November 4, 2024

Official Website
Karuizawa Tourism Association https://karuizawa-kankokyokai.jp/
Harunire Terrace, Karuizawa Hoshino Area https://www.hoshino-area.jp/haruniret…

*Google Translate was used for the translation. The translation may not be accurate.
*The information in the video may not be 100% accurate.

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