Early autumn at Shirakawago

When I think of bucket list destinations I had when we first moved to Japan, Shirakawago was right up there at the top of that list. I'd seen travel brochures and blogs about the village with the photogenic thatched roof houses, and promised myself that one day I'd visit there. I got to tick it off my list a few Septembers ago, and it was every bit as charming and magical as I had hoped.

I think early autumn is a really nice time to visit Shirakawago if you have the chance to. Sure, the autumn foliage doesn't kick in until later in the season, but there is still plenty of seasonal color to enjoy – and it wasn't too crowded, which was nice. Something I always love seeing during September and early October are cosmos flowers, and they add such a cheerful pop of color to this time of year.

Cosmos flowers, also known as autumn's cherry blossoms, are one of my favorites during the early fall timeframe – and they were growing in abundance at Shirakawago.

There were other unique flowers too – I don't know the names of these ones, but I thought they were so pretty and definitely had a fall feeling to them.

If anyone knows the name of these flowers, please let me know in the comments!

Something else I also thought was fun at Shirakawago was the scarecrows that were hanging out in some of the rice fields. Scarecrows are another one of those things that feels like autumn (at least in the States where my husband is from!), and when surrounded by some orange cosmos flowers they certainly played the part!

Scarecrows, freshly ploughed fields, and orange cosmos – it certainly felt like fall on our visit!

I have to also mention the place we stayed when we visited Gifu, which was Hidatei Hanaougi, a lovely ryokan in the Takayama area. I highly recommend checking out Takayama while you're in the prefecture, as it's such a charming destination with lots of traditional streets, great food, and a wonderful atmosphere.

The reason I wanted to mention the ryokan is because of how thoughtfully presented the meals were here. They definitely added a fall touch to how they were displayed, such as the persimmon dish in the photo below.

Not going to lie, I really want to find myself some persimmon dishware for home...

This was one of the other meals we were served, adorned with a Japanese maple leaf and a chrysanthemum flower.

The attention to detail with meal presentation was wonderful at Hidatei Hanaougi.

I think Shirakawago is one of those destinations that is stunning no matter the season you visit in, but I have a special affinity for my visit there in early autumn. The pleasant temperatures, seasonal blooms, and thoughtful meal presentation at our ryokan in Takayama made for a special trip. If you have the chance to visit I hope it's as memorable for you as it was for me!