William After the war, Japan, in a panic to quickly obtain material for rebuilding, replanted most of its deforested land with vast plantations of sugi (cedar, 杉), a fast-growing tree with the unfortunate characteristics of providing zero benefit to wildlife but triggering terrible allergies to anyone with a functioning nose. To walk in a cedar forest is to enter an eerie zone of complete silence. Fortunately, the gov’t has recently noticed this immense mistake and is taking steps to replace sugi with trees more suitable to the environment. One area left pristine, though, is in central Kyushu: Itsuki (五木). The village will hold a festival next weekend, 11/4-5, during the height of the autumn leaves season (紅葉, Kōyō). Festival info at the link; photo ripped from the Web.

https://itsuki-no-koto.com/articles/akimatsuri2023?fbclid=IwAR1hTakmwMQJoDOGsOGvri7ce5BQgp9_OMJDbrn9pTq0b4SqE7nJGt_u3g4