Autumn leaves in Japan: when the colour comes and where to go

How the colour moves across Japan

JNTO, Japan's national tourism organisation, puts the leaves across the country between late September and early December, and gives mid-November to early December as the time the trees turn in most of the places visitors go. The colour starts on the mountains and in the north and works its way down: the higher and colder the place, the earlier it turns.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) tracks the front with a sample maple at each observatory and records the first day when most of the tree's leaves have turned red. On its 1991–2020 normals, that line starts in eastern Hokkaido in mid-October, reaches Tohoku and eastern Hokuriku by 20 November, Kanto, Tokai, Chugoku, Shikoku and northern Kyushu by 30 November, and the Pacific coast of Kanto and Tokai, Kinki and southern Kyushu in early to mid-December. In Tokyo and Kyoto, the normal ginkgo yellowing date comes before the maple colour date.

These are city observatory trees, not forecasts for a famous garden or a mountain pass. Use them to choose your weeks, then check each place's own colour report as the season starts.

Normal dates by city

JMA's normal dates give a fair idea of when the cities reach full colour. The maple date is the day most leaves on the sample tree have turned; the ginkgo date the same for yellow.

Kyoto stands out. Its observatory maple turned later than its 5 December normal in eight of the nine years recorded from 2016 to 2025 (none was recorded in 2021), and in 2024 not until 20 December. Tokyo has stayed close to its normal. Treat late November to early December as Kyoto's core weeks, with the gardens' earlier trees colouring from mid-November, as JNTO says.

Our best time to visit Japan guide sets autumn against the rest of the year, with the rain and typhoon normals for October.

October: the Alps, Nikko and the north

October is for altitude. On the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, which climbs about 2,000 m across the Northern Alps, the operator calls mid-September to early November the best viewing time, with each stop turning at its own moment. Above Nikko, Visit Nikko puts the colour at Okunikko, around Lake Chuzenji and the moors, from late September to late October, at Kinugawa-Kawaji Onsen from mid-October to late November, and in central Nikko, around the shrines, from late October to mid-November.

Nikko's beauty comes with traffic. Visit Nikko warns that between mid-October and mid-November the usual 45 minutes from Nikko Station to Lake Chuzenji can stretch to more than four hours. The city's 2026 traffic guide gives 09:00 to 15:00 as the congested period, sometimes lasting until 17:00 on autumn weekends; weekdays are also busy at the peak. It suggests going up before 07:00 at weekends or after 15:00 on weekdays. The way round it is to stay a night by the lake and see it in the early morning.

Further north, JNTO says the leaves start changing in late September in eastern Yamagata's mountain gorges. Hirosaki's tourist bureau lists 30 October to 8 November for its 2026 Chrysanthemum and Autumn Foliage Festival. Our Tohoku in 7 days itinerary follows that route.

Late October to mid-November: Hakone, Takayama and Kanazawa

Around Tokyo, the colour reaches Hakone's ropeway in late October and lasts along the line to around mid-November, starting at Owakudani, its highest station. The operator warns of road congestion on fine autumn days and recommends reaching Owakudani by ropeway from Sounzan, Ubako or Togendai instead of driving to its car park. At Lake Kawaguchiko's Momiji Corridor, the prefectural tourism guide gives late October for the start of the colour and early to mid-November for its peak. Choose a weekday or an early start for the popular lakeside viewpoints.

In the Hida mountains, Takayama's tourism association puts the colour at the Hida Folk Village from late October to early November, and Shirakawa-go's village site gives the same window for its farmhouses.

In Kanazawa, Visit Kanazawa says the colour peaks surprisingly late, later than in Hakone. The avenue of American maples from City Hall to Kanazawa Castle Park comes first, from late October to early November; the ginkgo and zelkova of the city centre follow in early November; and Kenroku-en, with its many kinds of tree, keeps its colour from early to late November, while work on the garden's snow ropes, the yukitsuri, begins around 1 November and takes about six weeks.

Mid-November to early December: Tokyo, Miyajima, Kyoto and Kamakura

In Tokyo, JNTO sends you to the ginkgo avenue of Meiji Jingu Gaien, yellow from mid-November to early December, and to Koishikawa Korakuen and Rikugien, a traditional garden whose maples are lit in the evenings from mid-November into early December. Kamakura is last of all: its temples are at their best from late November to early December.

On Miyajima, the tourist association puts the leaves at their best around 20 November, and Momijidani Park, the maple valley at the foot of Mount Misen, has about 700 trees. When checked on 2 November 2026, the Miyajima Ropeway's booking calendar required advance online reservations on every November weekend and on 23 November. Use its reservation calendar for your travel date.

Kyoto's season begins in mid-November, and JNTO warns that the city is particularly busy at the end of the month, when the leaves peak. Two temples show how the season works. At Tofuku-ji, the wooden Tsutenkyo bridge looks down on a ravine of maples; when checked on 2 November 2026, the temple listed 14 November to 6 December as its autumn period, with the bridge and the founder's hall priced at ¥1,000 for adults (¥600 at other times) and opening from 08:30. Photography on the Tsutenkyo and Gaunkyo bridges may be refused in the crowds. The autumn dates change every year. Kiyomizu-dera holds an evening special visit among its lit maples, from 21 to 30 November in 2026, 17:30 to 21:30 with last entry at 21:00 and no reservation needed. If you can only go once, go at opening time on a weekday.

What to book, and in what order

Rooms in Kyoto go first. Our where-to-stay guide for Kyoto advises booking as early as you can for the autumn leaves, with weekdays and the weeks either side easier; book a rate you can cancel, so you can move the dates once the first colour reports appear. In Nikko and Hakone, an overnight stay is what turns a day of traffic into an early morning at the lake.

Then plan the days. See the famous temples and gardens early in the morning or on weekdays, which JNTO recommends for avoiding crowds at popular shrines and temples, and keep the evenings for illuminations. Reserve the Miyajima Ropeway if your date is a peak day, and allow extra time for the roads around Hakone's Owakudani on fine autumn days. Our day trips from Tokyo guide explains which trips are better with a night away in autumn.

Two ways to plan the trip

Follow the colour down, in one leg. The whole descent, from Okunikko or the Alpine Route in mid- to late October to Kyoto and Kamakura at the end of November or the first days of December, takes five to seven weeks. In two to three weeks, pick one leg. The early leg runs from mid-October to early November: Okunikko or the Alpine Route first, then Takayama, Shirakawa-go and Hakone. The late leg runs from mid-November to early December: Kanazawa and Miyajima first, then Kyoto and Kamakura. Each stop catches its own best weeks.

The city peak. Spend about four nights in Tokyo from mid-November and five in Kyoto from about 20 November, with day trips to Nikko's town and shrines or to Kamakura. It is the simpler trip, and it puts you in the gardens when most of the trees are turning; accept that you share them with the rest of Japan.