In Aoyama, Tokyo, the street trees are turning colors and the autumn leaves are now at their peak.
I decided to stop by one of Tokyo’s best autumn-leaf spots as the sun began to set.
To avoid the inevitably crowded station area, I walked through Aoyama Cemetery and headed toward Jingu Gaien.
The vending machine’s corn soup was sold out.
And as I stepped out onto the main street…
It felt like only about 30% of the crowd were Japanese — definitely busier than the last time I came.
In front of Shake Shack
The autumn leaves are at their peak — and the crowds are absolutely insane, lol.
A crowd had gathered around a street performer — right by the National Craft Artisans Fair.
At the far end of the avenue, the Christmas Market is currently being held,
but just before that, they were hosting the National Craft Artisans Fair (this one’s free to enter).
They had everything from ukiyo-e–style prints and Arita porcelain to Imabari towels,
plus food stalls selling matcha beer, matcha sweets, gohei-mochi, and even salt-grilled ayu.
It looks like the light-up will be running until December 5th.
http://www.meijijingugaien.jp/english/