Serene Autumn Leaves in Oirase Gorge

The Oirase River runs from Lake Towada in Aomori north to the Pacific Ocean. Its first 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) are cradled in the Oirase Gorge, where it courses through tight rapids and rounded boulders beneath a canopy that becomes all the more brilliant in autumn.

Ignore the funerary music and enjoy the incredible visuals in the video above—which only get better in the second half when the filmmakers pull out the slow-motion sliding camera. The soft edges aren't a video effect: the frothing water seems to give the world itself a softened sheen.