Japan-Guide isn’t doing their comprehensive guide on the Koyo season this year (because I guess the virus is too dangerous to go outside and see if the leaves are red or not), so I’m having to rely on live cameras and things to interpret the fall colors. Does anyone know if Kawaguchiko is at or near peak?
I’m trying to plan a trip for November in a few years, but every year climate change is going to make the fall colors shorter and less spectacular, so I’m trying to get as good an idea as I can as to how to time it.
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Check Google maps. You can see the latest photos. The ones from today look fairly colourful.
But the peak is gonna change from year from year, and if you’re planning a visit in a few years they will probably have the predictions up and running again.
The Momiji Fall Festival is being held from Oct 30 – Nov 23rd, 2021 with the night illumination according to the official website. As others suggest, check Google Maps for most recently posted photos to see what things look like there now. It does vary a bit from year to year but the official Momiji Festival is set to coincide with when the leaves will be changing. If you’re trying to plan a future trip, mid-November is a good bet for Kawaguchiko and usually late November to early December for Tokyo but it does vary a bit each year.
Fall leaves have a much longer season than cherry blossoms so it’s easier to see them if you span mid to late November in both the Tokyo/Kanto region and Kansai (Kyoto/Osaka) region. We currently live in Japan and visited Kyoto the last week of Nov into first days of Dec in 2020 and saw tons of fall leaves and autumn illuminations at night. There are similar autumn illuminations in gardens in Tokyo too.
– [Fuji Kawaguchiko Momiji Autumn Leaves Festival ](https://en.kawaguchiko.net/event-en/fujikawaguchiko-momiji-festival/)
– [8 Recommended Spots for Fall Leaves near Kawaguchiko](https://en.kawaguchiko.net/recommend-en/momiji/)
– [Japan Web Magazine: 2021 Fall Leaves Forecast ](https://jw-webmagazine.com/japan-autumn-leaves-forecast/)
– [Matcha: 2021 Fall Leaves Forecast ](https://matcha-jp.com/en/2720)
– [Live Japan: Autumn in Tokyo 2021 ](https://livejapan.com/en/article-a0000567/)
– [My Trip Report: Fall Leaves Illuminations in Kyoto (2020) ](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/mjt5yf/kyoto_autumn_night_illuminations_at_temples_and/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
Check [tenki.jp kouyou forecast/report](https://tenki.jp/lite/kouyou/3/16/)
i didn’t know that climate change was impacting how spectacular the autumn leaves would appear. that’s a damn shame
Was there a couple of weeks ago and the colors were pretty great. Idk about peak, but it was nice
Hope you don’t me asking an additional question but having a hard time choosing between kawaguchiko and hakone! Any advice on which of the two to choose? I’d just like to have a view of Fuji and enjoy a relaxing time in the hot springs and both offer that