A first reliable autumn foliage forecast [had been released for 2023 season](https://n-kishou.com/corp/news-contents/autumn/?lang=en#section02).
Since we are expecting a longer and warm autumn in most of Japanese regions – some forecast dates, especially for Kyoto are much later than expected.
Please note that autumn foliage season can usually begin (yellow leave stage) a week prior to the predictions and end a few days after red leaf predictions.
Note that with regard to Kyoto – there is significant differences between beginning of the season (Mt. Hiei, Kurama-dera), middle part (northern Kyoto, Bishamon-do), late season (Higashiyama) and ‘true season’ (Imperial Palace, Maruyama Park) with up to 30 days difference.
If you are visiting in Kanto (Greater Tokyo area), you can expect to see foliage between early November (Mt. Takao, Mt. Mitake) or mid November (Chichibu, Okutama, Fuji Five Lakes) and mid-December (Yokohama, Izu).
Peak areas for autumn foliage viewing:
* Mid-October: Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, Daisetsuzan
* Late October: Kamikochi, Kurobe Gorge, Echigo-Yuzawa, Onuma-koen, Karuizawa
* Early November: Nikko, Aizu-Wakamatsu, Lake Towada
* Mid-November: Matsushima Bay, Mt. Hiei, Mt. Maya, Fuji Five Lakes, Hakone, Mt. Tsukuba
* Late November: Higashiyama (Kyoto), Kanazawa, Mt. Yoshino, Mt. Misen
* Early December: Tokyo, Yokohama, Minoh Park (Osaka), Fukuoka
* Mid-December: Izu, Kagoshima
As always, we welcome any trip reports and photo galleries (subject to subreddit rules in a sidebar).
*This is your dedicated Autumn Foliage Discussion thread for 2023. Please note that questions regarding autumn foliage that are not part of larger itineraries, or that do not show substantial, non-trivial research will be removed.*
13 comments
I’d love any recommendations for the best gardens to visit in Tokyo during the last week in November.
Aw man looks like we’re gonna miss most of it for our 30th Oct – 25th Nov trip, bit of a shame as we thought we’d timed it perfectly
Where would shirakawa-go fall under the above categories?
The forecast above predicts red leaves in Kyoto for 12 December, but when you dig the website for the specific locations around Kyoto, all predictions actually put the end of November as the peak adn 12 December is essentially off-peak for every single one. Im leaning towards planning around the end of November based on this. Anyone knows why there’s such a big discrepancy between the overall prediction for Kyoto and the specific predictions for the premier sites? None of the other cities in Japan shows this discrepancy.
What’s the difference between the forecast and the average dates? Does the average date refer to the average of past forecast dates?
I will be in Hokkaido in the first half of November though, so it seems like we’re there at the right moment. I’d appreciate if anyone has any suggestions for places to view the autumn foliage up north!
Thanks for this! Looks like I’ll be a bit early for Kanazawa (first half November), but Takayama and lowest elevation Kamikochi might be okay.
Anyone have clues on Takayama as well as how Kamikochi progresses through fall? There’s a wide range of elevation in Kamikochi so I was planning to pick my hike according to fall foliage timing once I get there.
I’m going to Japan mid to late November and I adjusted my Kyoto dates when I saw the first date for Kiyomizu-dera Temple Illuminations is Saturday, Nov 18.
I was timing my trip for this. Remeber reading forecasts for previous years to try predicting peaks :).
Plan to be in Tokyo from 22-30 November, Osaka 30-04.12., Kyoto 04-07.12, Hiroshima 07-09.12 and Tokyo 09-10.12.
I was expecting Tokyo red leaves peak to be in last week of November, based on previous years forecasts.
How many days/weeks after “peak date” do red leaves stay?
Thank you for this. We will be in Kansai mid-November. I’m thinking we might see some while in Koyasan but will probably miss the window in Arashiyama. Oh well, we are coming from Hawai’i and as long as it’s not 80 degrees F, we will be happy!
Where would a good day trip be from Tokyo if we want to see autumn foliage first week of November?
Do yall think it will be worth it still to see Shirakawago on Nov the 15th or 16th? Peak is predicted around the 9th. I’ve heard once the leaves fall it’s not as pretty.
whatttt, so is there any yellow or red leaves for our Osaka-Kyoto-Hakone-Tokyo trip from Nov 9th-17th ??
I will be going to Kyoto/Osaka/Hiroshima early-mid november. Looks like im gonna miss the whole thing 🙁