Headed into Kameoka city by expressway, dropped by Kuwayama Jinja (鍬山神社) 

Koyo was at peak and gorgeous with more visitors.  Stayed for less than 1 hour. 

 

Next we headed to the Osawa-no-ike (大沢池) adjacent to Daikoku-ji (大覚寺). We had visited the latter temple in 2016 for peak koyo but skipped the former as it was getting late and dark. Luckily when we visited the pond (in this trip) it was a clear day with blue sky.

 

 

Headed uphill to Takao for the first time. Road was winding with forests on either side of the road. Had late lunch in a small, terraced cafe overlooking the valley on the opposite side of the Kiyotaki river. 

Visited Kosan-ji with gorgeous koyo. There were some crowds though not overwhelming, probably it was on a weekday and our visit was almost at 3pm.  The temple ground was huge extending uphill for about 10-15 min of trekking from the main road.  Stayed for an hour. 

 

 

Returned to the main road and drove to Kyoto hotel – car returned.

Koyo along the main road

 

 

===========>   Kyoto Part 2   ===========>