Takase Valley is located in the prefecture of Nagano, about a 4 hours drive from Tokyo. It is a mountaineous area with lots of hills, mountains and steep slopes. This is why there is an abundance of untouched nature in the otherwise densely populated larger Kanto region. The fall foliage is very colorful, and there are plenty of my favorite trees: the deep-red Japanese maple, called Momiji in the local language.