Hotaka mountains ablaze as autumn starts

Posted on Oct 6, 2013 in News, Things to do |

Climbers make their way through forests tinged with autumnal colors in Karasawa Cirque in the Northern Japan Alps.

MATSUMOTO, Nagano Prefecture–Karasawa Cirque, a popular mountaineering base to the Hotaka mountain range in the Northern Japan Alps, is rewarding climbers and hikers with a gorgeous vista of autumnal reds, yellows and oranges.

The leaves of rowan, Erman’s birch and other trees have turned their seasonal colors, in stunning contrast to the dwarf stone pine and other evergreens.

The cirque, formed by alpine glaciers, is located at an altitude of 2,300 meters in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture.

Visitors will be able to enjoy the autumnal foliage until mid-October, according to Takashi Yamaguchi, who operates the Karasawa Hyutte mountain hut.