Originally Posted by
KI-NRT
Izu during that time should be very nice. Chilly but not freezing - perfect for Onsen. The Shuzenji area's fall foliage should be at its peak during this time. This includes Shuzenji Temple itself, Shuzenji Natural Park Maple Forest and Namesawa Gorge.
You can combine Asaba with Arcana Izu, and do like hiking in Namesawa Gorge (about 10 minutes by car from Arcana) - just not sure if Arcana will be your thing. They serve French-Japanese fusion cuisine, and you really want to stay in one of the top category suites; the other rooms are in need of a refurb and they're a bit dark inside. But all rooms face a valley and it should be stunning in Autumn.
There are not many good ryokans along the Shinkansen's path between Tokyo and Kyoto. If you don't mind a slight diversion, Yoro Park and Yoro Falls should be awesome at this time. You can stay at Takimotokan Yuki No Sato, which has nice Onsen and wonderful Hida Beef Chateaubriand (at extra charge.) Other places with good Fall foliage nearby include Kamakura and Atami - the former is more beautiful, while the latter has nicer ryokans (and more of them.) The Kawaguchiko area and Hakone will be past its peak.
Or, you can simply go to Kyoto, where many iconic places will be bursting with color (but very crowded in the popular spots.) There are evening illuminations in many places, including Toji Temple, Nanzenji, Eikando Zenrin-ji, Kiyomizu-dera and Kodaiji. Here's are some shots that I took in 2020. Note that it was an unusual year in that peak colors occurred in the third week of November. YMMV.
Kodaiji Temple
Eikando Zenrin-ji Temple
Considerable difference in opinion, we had just stayed at Takimotokan Yuki No Sato for 2 nights couple weeks ago and found everything (food, rooms, service, onsen) to be mediocre to disappointing. The Yoro falls/park was also underwhelming. Extremely inconvenient as we had to trek half an hour downhill and walk along the highway just to get lunch (the unadon was fantastic however). Insignificant if driving, but Yoro station was the worst station I've ever been to in Japan and the (very old) trains rocked so much I almost threw up.
Shogetsu, on the other hand, blew us away and is a world of difference. It was actually much cheaper than Yuki No Sato too! Gero town was such a delight to explore and I loved the vibe.