Autumn Leaves in Japan (Kōyō)

Autumn colour reaches Kyoto, Nara and Tokyo from mid-November into early December — the season most travellers have in mind. It starts far earlier elsewhere: Daisetsuzan in Hokkaido turns from late September, and the Japan Alps run through October. Unlike the cherry blossoms, kōyō holds for weeks rather than days, so missing peak colour by a week still leaves you with a good trip.

When do autumn leaves peak in each region of Japan?

Autumn moves the opposite way to spring. It begins in the north and at altitude, then works downhill and southwards over about ten weeks.

• Daisetsuzan, Hokkaido — from late September, the first colour in the country.
• Tohoku and the Japan Alps — through October: Oirase Gorge, Naruko Gorge, the Kamikochi valley and the Tateyama route.
• Kyoto, Nara and Tokyo — mid-November to early December, which is the season most travellers have in mind.

November is the right headline for the cities. But if your dates land in October you are not early — you are simply going somewhere else, and the mountains in October are the better half of the season for a good number of people. The Japan Weather Association’s foliage map tracks the front week by week from September.

Why is kōyō easier to plan than sakura?

Cherry blossom gives you about ten days and one storm can end it. Kōyō holds for weeks. The leaves turn gradually rather than all at once, different species turn at different times, and a wet day does not strip the branches. Missing peak colour by a week in November still leaves you with a good trip, which is not true in April — and it means an autumn trip can be booked with far more confidence.

The vocabulary is worth having. Kōyō is the general term for the leaves changing; momiji is the maples specifically. A momijigari is a leaf-hunting outing, the autumn counterpart to hanami, though it involves rather more walking and rather less sitting down.

Where should you go for autumn leaves?

Kyoto is the centre of gravity, and from about 25 November into the first days of December the famous temples — Tofuku-ji, Eikando, Kiyomizu-dera — reach queue-at-the-gate levels. Tofuku-ji turns first and Eikando a week or more behind it, so space them across your stay. Several open again in the evening for lit-up viewing, which is worth doing once and worth buying a timed slot for. The alternatives pay off more here than they do in spring: Nara, Ohara north of Kyoto, Korankei in Aichi, Mount Takao out of Tokyo, and Nikko earlier in the month all give you the same maples with a fraction of the crowd. The hot-spring towns pair especially well with the season — an onsen stay under full colour is one of the best weekends in the Japanese year, and the first to book out.

What is the weather like in autumn?

November also happens to be the steadiest month on the Japanese calendar: dry, clear, cool days in the low teens, the typhoons finished and winter not yet arrived. Add the temple illuminations in the evenings and it is, for a lot of repeat visitors, the season they come back for. The city winter illuminations switch on in the same weeks, so the evenings stay full after the temple gates close.