Although the autumn leaves were starting to show their bright, beautiful colours in Takayama, we were keen to go deeper into the Japanese Alps and see if we could see even more of the amazing autumnal show, for which Japan is famous, that mother nature puts on at this time of year. The forecast for the day was wet and overcast but we decided to put on our wet weather gear and take a chance at being able to do some hiking and enjoy the views anyway. After a series of two bus trips, with an interchange in between, we made it to Kamikochi and stocked up on picnic goodies before heading over the Kappa Bridge to begin our hike.

Hiking Kamikochi
We hiked the route to Myojin Pond, where we visited the Hotaka Shrine and then continued on across the bridge and followed the path which looped back to the Visitor Centre and bus station. It was a mostly flat, easy path to walk with stunning views of the surrounding mountains, shrouded in mist, the pretty marshes and ponds with their mirror-like reflections and the bursts of brilliant autumn leaves.

Myojin Pond & Hotaka Shrine