A Momijigari through the autumn landscapes of the western mountains of Kyoto, Japan

For many years I didn't have a very positive image of Japan. Historical facts aside, I found it to be a very oppressive country.

The hidden waterfalls and shrines in the beautiful forests of eastern Tottori, Japan
The intrepid path that children took to a now abandoned school in Japan

That prejudice was fueled by the frequent images of Tokyo, a megalopolis of 37 million inhabitants, something that repels me. I live in a relatively small city (Vigo has about 300,000 inhabitants) where it doesn't take long to get to the sea or a mountain. My idea of ​​Japan has been changing as I've watched videos of its beautiful rural areas, as well as learning about some curious Japanese traditions that I find very beautiful, such as "Hanami," which is the viewing of flowers in spring, and my favorite: "Momijigari," the viewing of leaves in autumn.

Yesterday, Ambient Exploration posted a video of a two-hour hike in the mountains west of Kyoto, in the center of Honshu Island. The video's creator walked a forest path that runs alongside the Kiyotaki River, from Takao, through a Kitayama cedar forest and the small village of Saga Kiyotaki, to Hozukyo Torokko Railway Station in the Hozukyo Gorge: "This morning, the leaves are in full bloom, with brilliant reds and yellows in the foliage, and carpets of red maple leaves on the ground here and there along the stream", the creator comments, noting that this route is a popular spot in Kyoto for the Momijigari tradition:

The screenshots you can see below are just a small part of what's shown in the video. Some places look like they're straight out of a painting.