At present, I’m in the Japanese backcountry leading my annual Autumn Leaves Niigata tour.  The Japanese alpine areas are so green and luscious here, and the air is so clean.  When I first explored this region, I thought I had fallen through a looking glass into Wonderland just like Alice.   The world seemed upside down, the reflection of the serene pond perfectly mirroring the Beech trees.  Again, I thought I had stepped into another dimension because I remembered that Beech trees are an alpine species and don’t flourish at altitudes less than 1,000 meters, but I was staring at a grove only 300 meters above sea level.  Completing a little more research and remembering precisely where I was, I confirmed my suspicions that due to the harsh winters and heavy snowfall in this region of Niigata, the Beech trees were thriving, and because they tend to grow toward the sun, their straight trunks had become bent, constantly growing toward the best source of sunlight.  The entire scene was a view that I knew I needed to share with my future Niigata Autumn Leaves photography workshop participants.  Each season is different here, as my participants can enjoy either a mesmerizing green during spring and summer, the green remains giving over to a crisp yellow during the fall, or a shining white during the winter.  The trees at this location are said to be a century old, but the atmosphere surrounding the forest and pond harkens back to the pre-Meiji era of Japan when samurai protected artisans and geisha who used the roads nearby as trade routes connecting the major cities such as Edo, modern day Tokyo, and Naniwa, now Osaka.  Like pilgrims from previous eras, my participants and I have enjoyed forest therapy 森林浴 (shinrin yoku), refreshing ourselves and taken amazing photos of another Japanese natural wonderland.