Japan Autumn Leaves 2026: Forecast, Dates and Best Spots

Japan Autumn Leaves 2026: What You Can Book Before the Forecast Exists

You want a date. Nobody can give you one yet, and anybody selling you a precise 2026 koyo calendar in August is guessing. What you can have is better: twenty years of pattern, the 2025 outcome, and the two windows that have never both failed in the same year.

VoyageHacks last verified the facts and figures on this page on 16 August 2026.

Is the 2026 Japan autumn leaves forecast out yet?

No. As of 16 August 2026, all three Japanese issuers are still showing 2025 data.

Weathernews carries a notice on its koyo hub reading “2025年の紅葉情報の更新は終了しました。来シーズンの情報は2026年9月に掲載予定です”, which means the 2025 updates have finished and next season’s information is scheduled for September 2026. The Japan Weather Association’s tenki.jp carries the same message. The Japan Meteorological Corporation’s news page still ends with its third and final 2025 forecast, published on 4 November 2025.

Here is how the three issuers behaved last season, which is the best guide to when 2026 numbers appear.

The practical read: expect the first 2026 numbers in the first half of September, a mid-season revision in October, and a final call in early November. By the time the final call arrives, Kyoto’s good hotels for the last two weeks of November are usually gone.

Koyo, momiji and migoro: the words the forecast uses

Koyo (紅葉) is the seasonal colouring of leaves and the Japanese name for the whole phenomenon, red maples and yellow ginkgo alike. Momiji is the Japanese maple and, by extension, the deep red it turns; icho is ginkgo, which goes gold and usually peaks a week or two before the maples in the same city.

Migoro (見頃) is the word that matters when you book. It means peak viewing, the days when a spot is at its best, and it is not the same as iro-zuki hajime (色づき始め), the first hint of colour, which arrives one to three weeks earlier.

There is a third date, and it is the one that confuses travellers most. The Japan Meteorological Agency’s momiji-bi (紅葉日) is a phenological observation: the day one designated maple at a city weather station is judged fully coloured. Those trees sit in low, warm city centres, so momiji-bi runs later than the temple gardens and hillsides you actually want to see. Kyoto’s momiji-bi normal falls in early December, while Kyoto’s famous temples peak in late November. Both figures are correct; they measure different things.

What triggers the colour

Cold mornings. The Japan Weather Association explains the mechanism as a temperature switch: maple colouring gets going once daily minimum temperatures start dropping below about 8 °C, and accelerates sharply at 5 to 6 °C. In its first 2025 forecast the JWA put the same point in operational terms, noting that eastern Japan’s lowlands would not peak until mid November or later because morning temperatures would not fall below 10 °C until November arrived.

Two consequences follow, and they explain the whole map:

• Altitude moves faster than latitude. Daisetsuzan at 1,600 m colours in mid September while Sapporo, at the same latitude and sea level, waits until late October.
• A warm autumn delays everything. The forecasters kept pushing 2025’s dates back all season because September and early October ran hot nationwide.

When do Japan’s autumn leaves peak, region by region?

Typical windows below, built from the JMC, JWA and Weathernews spot forecasts plus JNTO’s own season guidance. Treat them as the planning bracket, then narrow with the September forecast.

What actually happened in 2025

Warm year, late season. These are observed peak-colour reports from japan-guide’s 2025 autumn colour archive, which posts dated on-the-ground assessments rather than forecasts.

Note the pattern: the mountains held their dates and the lowland cities slipped. That is the signature of a warm autumn, and it is why a Kyoto booking anchored on late November survives a warm year while one anchored on 15 November does not.

How to read the 2026 koyo forecast (and what to do until it drops)

When the September numbers appear, read them like this:

• Check the spot, not the city. Weathernews and the JMC forecast individual spots. Tofukuji, Arashiyama and Ohara are three different dates inside one city, and Ohara in the northern hills runs about a week ahead of the centre.
• Ignore any single headline date for Kyoto. If it quotes a mid-December figure it is almost certainly the weather-station momiji-bi, not the temples.
• Watch the October revision, not the September one. The first forecast is built on a summer temperature outlook. The mid-season update is the one that has seen real September weather.
• Assume late in a warm year, never early. No Japanese issuer has had to pull lowland dates forward by a fortnight; they have repeatedly pushed them back.

If you must book before any of that exists, the hedge is simple. Anchor your Kyoto nights on the last two weeks of November, keep the first week of December free or refundable, and put your flexible days at the end of the trip rather than the start. A late season costs you nothing if your tail end is loose.

Where to see autumn leaves near Tokyo

Tokyo is the late one. The city’s gardens peak from about 20 November into the first week of December, with Mount Takao a week or so ahead because it is higher and out of the heat island.

• Mount Takao. About an hour from Shinjuku, peaks mid November. The Takao Tozan Railway cable car costs ¥490 one way and ¥980 return for adults, ¥250 and ¥500 for children, running from 08:00. Walking up trail 6 and riding down is the version worth doing.
• Rikugien, Bunkyo ward. A strolling garden built around a maple-fringed pond. Adults ¥300, over-65s ¥150, elementary-age children free; open 09:00 to 17:00 with last entry at 16:30. In 2025 it ran a separate evening viewing from 28 November to 9 December on its own ticket, so check whether 2026 repeats it.
• Meiji Jingu Gaien. The ginkgo avenue, 146 trees over roughly 300 m, free to walk, gold from mid November into early December. The long-running Ginkgo Festival was replaced in 2025 by a differently-formatted market event running 21 November to 7 December, so verify what is on before you build a day around it.

For a wider Tokyo plan, see our guides to things to do in Tokyo and where to stay in Tokyo on a budget .

Where to see autumn leaves in Kyoto, and when to walk in

Kyoto is the reason most people come, and it is the hardest part of the trip to get right. Peak week here is one of the most crowded fortnights in Japanese tourism.

Tofukuji is the classic view, a valley of maples seen from the Tsutenkyo bridge. The temple’s own visitor guide sets autumn hours at 08:30 for Tsutenkyo from 14 November to 6 December, against 09:00 the rest of the year, with last admission at 16:00. Autumn admission is ¥1,000 for adults, up from ¥600, and the combined ticket with the Hojo gardens is withdrawn for the season. The temple also warns that visitors may be asked not to take photographs from the Tsutenkyo and Gaunbashi bridges when it gets crowded, so plan to look rather than shoot. The 08:30 opening is the single most useful fact on this page: arrive for it and you get roughly forty minutes before the tour groups land.

Eikando (Zenrinji) holds about 3,000 maples on the Higashiyama slope. Daytime admission is ¥1,000 for adults, 09:00 to 16:00 with the gate closing at 17:00. It runs a separate evening illumination in autumn, mid November to around 10 December in 2025, on its own ticket; confirm the 2026 dates with the temple before planning an evening around it.

Kodaiji is the reliable night option: adults ¥800, normally 09:00 to 17:30 with last entry at 17:00, extended during the autumn illumination to a 22:00 close with last admission at 21:30. In 2025 that ran from 24 October to 14 December, a much longer window than most temples, which makes it the sensible backup when the season runs late.

Arashiyama is best treated as a morning, not an afternoon, and Kiyomizudera as a first-hour visit or an evening one. Our Kyoto things to do and Kyoto where to stay guides cover the rest of the city, and the Japan etiquette guide covers the temple-manners questions that come up most in peak season.

Five spots that peak when Kyoto is full

• Minoo Park, Osaka. A 2.8 km riverside walk from Hankyu Minoo station to a 33 m waterfall, roughly 40 minutes, free, peaking late November into early December. Twenty-five minutes from central Osaka and a fraction of Arashiyama’s crowd.
• Momijidani Park, Miyajima. Mid to late November, and the ferry now carries a ¥100 Miyajima visitor tax per crossing (a ¥500 annual option exists), introduced by Hatsukaichi City on 1 October 2023. Pair it with our Hiroshima guide .
• Kenrokuen, Kanazawa. Adults ¥320, children ¥100, over-65s free with ID; 08:00 to 17:00 from 16 October. Autumn illumination evenings are free to enter, which is unusual and worth timing for.
• Kamikochi, Nagano. Mid to late October, in the Alps. Private cars are banned, so you park at Sawando and take the shuttle, and the whole valley closes for winter on 15 November.
• Yabakei, Oita. Kyushu’s headline gorge, peaking early to mid November at Ichimoku Hakkei. Proof that “Kyushu is last” only holds at sea level.

Hokkaido’s early season gets its own treatment in our Hokkaido guide ; the Daisetsuzan Asahidake ropeway charges ¥3,500 return for adults and ¥1,750 for elementary-age children between 1 June and 31 October.

How much does Japan cost in autumn leaves season?

Kyoto in peak week is the most expensive accommodation decision of your trip, and the numbers are less lopsided than the reputation suggests.

VoyageHacks priced the same three Kyoto Station hotels on Booking.com on 16 August 2026, two adults, two nights, cheapest available room, in yen:

Three things that table tells you, and the second one surprised us:

• Early December is the real saving. The same three rooms cost about 43 percent less from 7 December than in peak week, and the leaves are frequently still on the trees in a warm year.
• Mid October is barely cheaper than peak week, only about 7 percent across the three, and one hotel was actually dearer in October. Autumn is expensive in Kyoto from mid October onwards, not just in the famous fortnight.
• These are August prices for November. Peak-week rates in Kyoto rise as inventory sells, so treat the November column as a floor rather than a forecast.

On flights, this is shoulder-high season rather than the spring blossom peak, and long-haul fares to Tokyo are driven far more by your booking window than by the leaves. Book three to five months out, and check the calendar before you commit to a week.

Rail is the other big line item. A nationwide JR Pass only pays off on a genuine multi-city loop after the 2023 price rise, so run the numbers in our JR Pass guide before buying, and see the Japan budget guide for daily costs.

Live koyo status pages, temple queues and bus times are all things you check on your phone while standing in a maple grove, which is why an eSIM matters more in this season than most. Our Japan eSIM guide covers the options.

What can go wrong, and what to do about it

• You booked mid November and the year runs warm. This is the common failure. Salvage it by going up: Kurama, Ohara and Takao (the Kyoto one, not Tokyo’s) sit higher and colour earlier, so they are often at peak when the city centre is still green.
• You booked early December and the year runs cold. Rarer, and easier. Head south or low: Nara, Minoo and Miyajima hold colour into December, and Kodaiji’s illumination ran to 14 December in 2025.
• You planned a photo trip around Tofukuji. Photography from the Tsutenkyo and Gaunbashi bridges can be restricted when it gets crowded, by the temple’s own notice. Shoot from inside the garden instead, or go at 08:30.
• You planned Kamikochi for late November. It closes for winter on 15 November. Check the closing date before you build an itinerary around the Alps.
• You expected the weather-station date to mean the temples. It does not. Momiji-bi is one tree at one city observatory, and in Kyoto it normally falls in early December, well after the gardens.

Sources

• Weathernews, Koyo Information (2026 timing notice), weathernews.jp/koyo, checked August 2026
• Japan Weather Association, tenki.jp Koyo pages, tenki.jp/kouyou, checked August 2026
• Japan Weather Association, 2025 First Koyo Peak Forecast, jwa.or.jp , checked August 2026
• Japan Weather Association, tenki.jp, the 8 °C colouring threshold, tenki.jp , checked August 2026
• Japan Meteorological Corporation, 2025 Koyo and Ginkgo Forecast (third round), n-kishou.com , checked August 2026
• Japan Meteorological Corporation, 2025 First Koyo Forecast release, prtimes.jp , checked August 2026
• Japan National Tourism Organization, Autumn Leaves Forecast, japan.travel , checked August 2026
• japan-guide, Autumn Color Reports 2025, japan-guide.com , checked August 2026
• Tofukuji, admission and opening hours, tofukuji.jp , checked August 2026
• Eikando Zenrinji, admission and hours, eikando.or.jp , checked August 2026
• Kodaiji, visiting information, kodaiji.com , checked August 2026
• Takao Tozan Railway, cable car fares and hours, takaotozan.co.jp , checked August 2026
• Tokyo Metropolitan Park Association, Rikugien, tokyo-park.or.jp , checked August 2026
• Kenrokuen Tourist Association, hours and admission, kenrokuen.or.jp , checked August 2026
• Daisetsuzan Asahidake Ropeway, fares, asahidake.hokkaido.jp , checked August 2026
• Eizan Railway, Momiji Tunnel, eizandensha.co.jp , checked August 2026
• Kyoto City Transportation Bureau, Subway and Bus 1-Day Pass, city.kyoto.lg.jp , checked August 2026
• Hatsukaichi City, Miyajima Visitor Tax, prtimes.jp , checked August 2026
• Hotel prices: Booking.com, three named Kyoto Station hotels, queried 16 August 2026

What changed

• 2026-08-16: first published, with the 2025 observed peaks and the confirmation that no 2026 koyo forecast exists yet.
• Due September 2026: the first 2026 forecasts from the Japan Meteorological Corporation, Weathernews and the Japan Weather Association. This page will be updated with their Kyoto, Tokyo and Nikko dates when they publish.
• Due November 2026: the final 2026 forecast round, which is the one to book the last flexible nights against.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the best time to see autumn leaves in Japan?

The koyo front starts in Hokkaido’s mountains in mid September and reaches southern Kyushu in early December. For most visitors the reliable window is 10 November to 5 December, when Nikko, Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara and Miyajima all colour. High mountains such as Daisetsuzan and Kamikochi peak six to eight weeks earlier.

When do the autumn leaves peak in Kyoto?

Kyoto’s temple gardens usually peak between about 18 November and 5 December. In 2025 japan-guide reported peak colours in Kyoto on 29 November, while the Japan Meteorological Corporation’s final forecast put the city’s official observation maple at 15 December, ten days later than its long-term average, after a very warm autumn.

When is the 2026 Japan autumn leaves forecast released?

In September 2026. Weathernews states on its koyo page that next season’s information is scheduled for publication in September 2026, and the Japan Weather Association’s tenki.jp says the same. In 2025 the Japan Meteorological Corporation published first on 2 September, Weathernews on 4 September and the Japan Weather Association on 18 September.

Where can you see autumn leaves near Tokyo?

Rikugien garden in Bunkyo ward costs ¥300 for adults and peaks in late November. The ginkgo avenue at Meiji Jingu Gaien is free to walk and turns gold from mid November. Mount Takao, about an hour from Shinjuku, peaks in mid November, and its cable car costs ¥490 one way or ¥980 return.

Is Japan expensive during autumn leaves season?

Kyoto is. VoyageHacks priced three hotels near Kyoto Station on 16 August 2026 for two adults and two nights: peak week from 23 November came to ¥150,480 across the three, against ¥86,145 for the same three rooms from 7 December. That is a gap of about 43 percent for two weeks’ patience.

Plan your koyo trip

Anchor Kyoto on 18 November to 5 December, keep the tail of the trip flexible, and re-check the forecast in September when the issuers publish. If the year runs warm, you have already booked the right fortnight. If it runs cold, Nara and Miyajima will still be red when you get there.

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Keep planning with our Japan hub , the Kyoto city guide , the Tokyo city guide and the Japan itinerary guide . For fares from the US west coast, see cheap flights from Los Angeles to Tokyo , or browse the flights and hotels hubs. Still weighing Japan against warmer options? Our where to go in October and where to go in November rankings put it side by side with the sun destinations.