Photo= The tram passing through the valley colored with maple leaves

With the advancing of fall, places famous for colored autumn foliage in Kyoto Prefecture were crowded with tourists on November 16. Two months after the damage from Typhoon No. 18, the Arashiyama area of Kyoto City was vibrant and tourists were deeply moved at the sight of the vividly colored mountains.

According to the Kyoto Local Meteorological Observatory, the highest temperature that day was 18.1 degrees Celsius, which was 1.2 degrees higher than average year. A weather information company noted, "Thanks to a recent drop in temperature, the leaves are making up for the delay in reaching their peak color. Now is the best time to enjoy them everywhere in western Japan."

There was a line for tickets for the sight-seeing tram of the Sagano Scenic Railway, Ukyo Ward, even two hours before the first train. As bright red maple leaves and the beauty of the Hozu valley were seen from the windows, admiring exclamations were heard from the passengers over and over again.