Every year, as the cherry blossom season comes to an end around late May, I start looking forward to my annual Essence of Japan autumn leaves photography tour. Autumn truly is a magical time. The Japanese maple tree, along with other plant and tree species, transforms into vibrant shades of red, yellow, and orange due to decreased daylight and cooler temperatures, providing a welcome relief from the summer heat. The trees achieve a natural balance, and for over 28 years as a local, I have been exploring, scouting, and leading Japanese photography tours. During these photography workshop tours, I also indulge in shinrin-yoku (森林浴), or forest bathing, to refresh the minds and spirits of my participants, my team, and myself. My photography workshop tour routes are well laid out, as my team, and I are all locals, and we know the perfect times of day with lighting and weather conditions; it's normal for us to scout a new route for 3 to 5 years in all seasons before I will even think of introducing it to clients. New for autumn 2025 are two exquisite days of Ocean Stack photography along the sea of Japan that I have been photographing and scouting for over ten years, along with Nikko and a visit to the Fukushima highlands in search of wild snow monkeys. Nikko was founded in 766, and I prefer visiting and photographing in Nikko over Kyoto. The Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu ruled Japan for 250 years. After his death in 1616, under his wishes, a mausoleum was built in the mountains of Nikko to house his spirit. Nikko is home to countless Samurai legends and enigmas. In short, it's authentic Samurai Japan, but it's on the beaten path. I have been visiting here for 28 years, and I know the tourist timing to avoid the rush.