Tofukuji temple in autumn

The next day, on Sunday, we went to Tofukuji Temple, famous for its autumn foliage. Of course we weren't the only ones there, we joined thousands (could be thousands) of people from the tour groups. Brightness and contrast had been adjusted.



We went through a covered wooden bridge which had the famous view of Tofukuji temple (like the first one above). It had the view of the viewing terrace surrounded by the red, yellow and orange maple trees. The sun was also playing hide and seek today, disappearing for a while behind the clouds.



Tofukuji's name is a combination of the famous Todaiji temple and Kofukuji temple in Nara. Some of the buildings in this temple had been destroyed by fire before but it still remains as one of the five main Zen temples in Kyoto. This is the gorgeous red maple tree on the northern garden grounds. It was easily the most popular tree there. Wait, there were two trees there, the combination of their leaves were beautiful.



There were 53 subtemples before but right now, only 23 are left. This is the view of the viewing terrace from the northern gardens. Brightness and contrast adjusted.



The northern gardens. After walking across the Tsuten-kyo bridge over a small stream, you will reach the northern gardens. This garden is a part of the autumn tinted valley called Sengyokukan, which is the famous view of Tofukuji temple.



This was truly the reddest tree I had seen this autumn. Probably because the sun was shinning on it, highlighting the deep red hues, bringing it to life. The branches are against the roof of the Tsuten-kyo bridge.



Yeah, yeah, I love this tree. That is the Tsuten-kyo bridge in the background. You can see the two maple species, one of them is the Acer palmatum 'dissectum' species which has the laceleaf or finely dissected foliage. I love that type the best although most that I had seen had deep red hues unlike the brighter red ones of Acer palmatum.



The sun was shining very brightly right now. On our way out, I saw this couple sitting under the maple trees and I thought they made a cute subject for a picture. Brightness and contrast adjusted because the glare from the sun was too bright!