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Close-up tilt shot of the autumn foliage of a deciduous tree along the banks of the Shirakoma Pond. Sunlight streaming through the leaves swaying in the breeze. This body of water is situated at an elevation of 2,115 m amid the Northern Yatsugatake Mountains in Nagano prefecture. The site is famous for its autumn leaves. The various evergreen conifer species in the surrounding mountains, such as the Northern Japanese hemlock (Tsuga diversifolia), Hondo spruce (Picea jezoensis var. hondoensis), and Veitch's silver-fir (Abies veitchii ), contrast against the red and yellow autumn foliage of the deciduous trees around the pond, including the Japanese enkianthus (Enkianthus perulatus), the Japanese rowan (Sorbus commixta), and Erman's birch (Betula ermanii). The autumn leaves draw numerous photography buffs every year. The pond is also a habitat for the narrowleaf bur-reed (Sparganium angustifolium), which is an endangered species in Japan.