Summer temperatures have yet to cool off, and meteorologists believe that this year's scorching heat may have pushed back the arrival of autumn foliage season — predicting its start will likely be later than usual across almost all regions of Japan.
Experts believe Sapporo will be the first area to enjoy the autumn foliage season. They predict the best date to enjoy yellow ginkgo leaves will be Nov. 6, and for viewing maple leaves, Nov. 7. Hokkaido's mountain maple trees usually turn red by around Oct. 25, meaning this year's foliage in the prefecture will peak 13 days later than usual.
In its first forecast for this year's autumn foliage season, released Tuesday, Osaka-based Japan Meteorological Corp. sees the earliest anticipated time for both yellow and red foliage to arrive as around usual, but believes it's more likely the season will arrive later than usual since September and October temperatures are expected to be higher than average.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.