Ginsendai The mountainside’s autumn colours are right here in front of me

One September morning, I got off the shuttle bus and headed towards Ginsendai. As I straightened the collar of my green down jacket, the air felt cool against my cheeks. Up in the mountains, autumn was already this far along.

I stopped where the view of the mountainside opened up. The slope in front of me was covered in autumn colours. Without thinking, I brought both hands to my mouth and couldn’t speak for a while.

Beyond the white trunks standing nearby, the autumn foliage went on and on. I’d come intending to look at the leaves tree by tree, but raising my head brought the whole scale of the mountain into view. There was so much I hardly knew where to look.

Ginsendai is 1,490 m above sea level and is also a starting point for climbing Mount Akadake. I took my time enjoying the view across the mountainside. A light mist lay over the distant ranges, making the outlines of the leaves in front seem even clearer.

Each time bright sky appeared between the clouds, the slope looked a little different. I was only standing in the same place, yet I kept wanting to take another photo. Before leaving, this time I lowered the camera and gave the view a proper look.

For something to look forward to after descending, I’d choose Kamikawa’s mugwort mochi. Apparently it’s made with mugwort from within the town. I wanted to remember the whole mountainside of autumn leaves I’d watched with my camera lowered, along with the cold morning air.