Tokyo autumn foliage
Writes the autumn colour pages and follows the forecasts as they are issued, which is more than one forecast.
UpdatedThis page carries dated prices or seasonal forecasts checked on the date above, and that window has now passed. Re-check the sources at the foot of the page before you book anything.
Here is the correction this page exists for. A widely repeated piece of advice says that a visitor to Tokyo in early November sees the ginkgo gone gold while the maples are still green – expectations managed, trip saved.
That is not what happens. In early November central Tokyo is essentially still green, and the ginkgo has not turned either. The ginkgo does lead the maple, but by about five days, and both fall in the last week of November into early December.
At a glance
- Ginkgo, Meiji Jingū Gaien
- 2026 peak starts about 30 November
- Maples, Rikugien
- About 8 December
- Early November
- Essentially still green
- If your dates are early
- Nikkō, Mount Takao, or Takayama
In this guide
Four ways of checking the same thing
This is worth showing rather than asserting, because the early-November idea is repeated a lot.
The forecast. Weathernews puts the 2026 peak at Meiji Jingū Gaien – the famous ginkgo avenue – starting about 30 November. Rikugien's maples are forecast from about 8 December.
The typical windows. Computed from 2004–2025 observations, the Gaien ginkgo and Koishikawa Kōrakuen are both late November to early December, and Rikugien late November to mid December.
The Meteorological Agency's own sample trees. Their Tokyo normals work out at about 23 November for ginkgo yellowing and 28 November for maple colouring. Ginkgo first – by five days, both in the last week of the month.
What people actually saw last year. The most persuasive one. Japan Guide's on-the-ground autumn reports filed nothing at all on Tokyo in 2025 until 19 November, when they called it “approaching peak”. Peak came on 26 November. There was nothing to report before mid-November because there was nothing there.
If your dates are early, go up or go north
The useful version of this page is not “you have mistimed it”. It is that colour in early November is a two-hour train away, because altitude and latitude both run weeks ahead of central Tokyo.
Nikkō is the answer most of the time. The Irohazaka switchback road is forecast to start peaking about 31 October in 2026, so the first days of November are genuinely good there. Kegon Falls follows at the end of October, Lake Yunoko higher up earlier still.
Mount Takao is inside Tokyo and six hundred metres up, which buys about a fortnight over the city gardens – typically mid November, forecast from about 22 November this year. Not early enough for the first week, but earlier than anything downtown.
Takayama, if you are going that way anyway, is forecast from about 5 November.
Shōwa Kinen Park in western Tokyo is the only in-city option that reliably has anything in early November, and it is more of a park day than a foliage pilgrimage.
Which gardens are worth the ticket
Rikugien is the best of them and the night viewing is the version worth booking – confirmed for 25 November to 6 December 2026, ¥1,200 at the gate or ¥1,000 online.
Koishikawa Kōrakuen is quieter for the same season and ¥300, ten minutes from Tokyo Dome. If Rikugien is booked out or you want an hour rather than an evening, this is the one.
Meiji Jingū Gaien is free, spectacular for about ten days and unremarkable the rest of the year. No 2026 dates have been published for the ginkgo festival and it has been cancelled in recent years, so go for the avenue rather than the event.
Where to go, and when each one turns
Meiji Jingū Gaien ginkgo avenue
It dependsSpectacular for about ten days and unremarkable for the other fifty-five weeks.
No 2026 dates have been published for the ginkgo festival, and it has been cancelled in recent years.
Rikugien
Worth itTokyo's best autumn garden, and the night viewing is the version worth booking.
Night viewing 2026 is confirmed for 25 November – 6 December.
Koishikawa Kōrakuen
Worth itQuieter than Rikugien for the same season, ten minutes from Tokyo Dome.
Mount Takao
Worth itTurns a fortnight before central Tokyo because it is six hundred metres up. That is the whole trick.
Nikkō and the Irohazaka
Worth itThe answer to arriving in early November and finding Tokyo still green. Two hours out and a month ahead.
Tours you can book for this
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Frequently asked questions
When is the best time to see autumn leaves in Tokyo?
The last week of November into early December. For 2026, the Meiji Jingū Gaien ginkgo avenue is forecast to start peaking about 30 November and Rikugien's maples about 8 December.
Will I see autumn colour in Tokyo in early November?
Essentially no. Central Tokyo is still green in early November and the ginkgo has not turned either – the two are only about five days apart and both are late in the month. Go to Nikkō instead, where the Irohazaka peaks around 31 October.
Does the ginkgo turn before the maples in Tokyo?
Yes, but only by about five days. The Meteorological Agency's Tokyo normals are roughly 23 November for ginkgo and 28 November for maple. The ordering is real; the gap is much smaller than commonly claimed.
Where can I see autumn colour near Tokyo in early November?
Nikkō, two hours north, where the Irohazaka road is forecast to peak from about 31 October in 2026. Mount Takao inside Tokyo runs about a fortnight ahead of the city gardens but still peaks mid to late November.
Is the Rikugien night viewing worth booking?
Yes, and it is confirmed for 25 November to 6 December 2026. ¥1,200 at the gate, ¥1,000 online, 18:00 to 20:30 with last entry at 19:30.
Further reading
Official sources
- Weathernews – Meiji Jingū Gaien spot page – 2026 peak-start date and typical window
- Weathernews – Rikugien spot page – 2026 forecast for the maples
- JMA – maple colouring observations – Sample-tree observations and deviation from normal
- Japan Guide – Tokyo autumn colour – Typical windows and Rikugien night viewing dates
- Japan Guide – 2025 autumn colour reports – Observed, not forecast: first Tokyo report 19 November 2025