The blood-red maple leaves at Choenji Temple in Nagano, Japan are stunning.

Photo taken on November 9, 2024 Location: Choenji Temple, Nagano, Japan Transportation: JR Chino Station, then a 15-minute taxi ride for JPY 2,800 There is a song called "Why Are the Flowers So Red?" Today, I want to sing, "Why Are the Leaves So Red?" Choenji Temple (清龍山 長圓寺) is located in Chino, Nagano. It is a 15-minute taxi ride from Chino Station, costing JPY 1,300. There are no buses. On the way back, the driver was unwilling to pick us up, so we had to call a taxi ourselves. It was very inconvenient, so we walked 5.3 km back to the JR station. Such a remote location, costing time, money, and energy. A small temple that takes 5 minutes to walk around, really, 5 minutes. But I had to come here. Because, during the maple season, the maple leaves here turn blood red. I have seen blood-red maple leaves in Kyoto and Nara, but not many. Here, several maple trees blend with towering cedar trees, and there is a ginkgo tree over 20 meters tall in the temple. This year, the maple leaves were late. Yesterday, the temple's website said that the leaves would turn blood red in the next few days. I knew we were a day early because, based on last year's daily photos, the leaves were only 70% red today. Sure enough, more than half of the maple leaves were still red-black, but two trees were completely red. This amazed my companions. I spent an hour taking photos of a tree, just me, never getting enough. I didn't capture the most classic scene, but I was still moved by what I saw.