The Alpine Route connects coastal Toyama with mountainous Nagano, and among the many modes of transportation involved in the journey are cable cars that carry passengers over forests that are at their most beautiful when their leaves are changing.

The view from this famous temple’s wide veranda is so captivating in autumn that the facility stays open after dark on select days so that visitors can see it in a whole new way.

Honestly, Kyoto dominates TripAdvisor’s list to the extent that you might be hard-pressed to visit all of its ranked site before the leaves drop off the branches and winter sets in.

The clear waters of this mountain stream provide life to the surrounding trees as they make their way to Lake Towada, which straddles the border between Aomori and Akita Prefectures.

And finally, the list comes back to Kyoto to award the top spot to this temple on the city center’s eastern edge, which was founded more than a millennium ago.

Unlike Japan’s famously fickle cherry blossoms, its fall colors tend to stick around for a few weeks in each locality. Still, eventually all those beautiful red and yellow leaves will flutter to the ground, so grab a jacket, strap on a pair of comfortable shoes, and see them while you’ve got the chance.

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