Japan in autumn: following the kōyō and its maples from north to south

To see Japan’s autumn colors, the kōyō, also called momiji after the maples, start in the north in September and head south at the pace of the foliage. The maples turn red first on the volcanoes of Hokkaidō, then in the gorges of Tōhoku, in Nikkō, around Fuji, and Tokyo brings up the rear at the end of November. Between the first and the last colors there are more than two months: it is this time lag that lets you stay under the foliage front for an entire trip.

One caveat from the outset: the kōyō, the season of red leaves, is a natural phenomenon. It moves forward or back by several days from one year to the next, depending on how warm the autumn is. The windows given here are the ones our travel books announce, not guaranteed dates.

Where to see the first red maples: at altitude, and in the north

Two places in Hokkaidō are enough to understand how it works. In the Daisetsuzan, the great volcanic massif in the center of the island, Japan’s first autumn colors appear from mid-September. In the Jōzankei gorge, an hour’s drive from Sapporo and much lower down, the maples around the Futami bridge only catch fire in mid-October. At the far end of the same valley, the reservoir of the Hōheikyō dam, reached by electric shuttle from the parking lot, offers one of the finest autumn views in the region.

A month’s difference on a single island: altitude matters as much as latitude. Tōhoku confirms the rule, with the Oirase gorges and the Jōgakura bridge announced for mid-October, “among the first on Honshū”. Further south, Nikkō takes on its colors from mid-October to early November, the maples of Hakone wait for November, and those of Rikugi-en, in Tokyo, for late November.

A trip heading from north to south therefore stays, in theory, under the color front for several weeks. A trip that starts in Tokyo in October gets there a month too early, and reaches Hokkaidō when its maples are already over.

When to see Japan’s autumn colors, place by place

Here, from first to last, is the period when our travel books announce the colors. These are approximate markers: they move forward or back every year depending on how warm the autumn is, and should be checked against that year’s forecasts before booking.

Place	Region	Color period, roughly
Daisetsuzan, Sōunkyō and Asahidake	Hokkaidō	From mid-September, the first in Japan
Jōzankei gorge, Futami bridge	Hokkaidō, near Sapporo	Mid-October
Hakkōda, Jōgakura bridge	Tōhoku	Mid-October
Oirase gorges, Lake Towada	Tōhoku	Mid-October
Nakatsugawa gorge, Urabandai	Tōhoku	Late October
Nikkō, Irohazaka, Lake Chūzenji	Nikkō	Mid-October to early November
Lake Kawaguchi, maple corridor	Fuji	Early November
Hakone	Hakone	November
Rinnō-ji garden	Nikkō	Late November
Aoyama ginkgo avenue	Tokyo	Late November
Rikugi-en, night opening	Tokyo	Late November and early December

No single trip hits every place at the perfect moment. Anyone who goes up the Daisetsuzan in mid-September will find the Jōzankei gorge still green, a month before its colors. Anyone who reaches the Kantō in early November will see the maples of Nikkō and Lake Kawaguchi, but not yet those of Tokyo’s gardens. Choose the two or three places that matter most to you, and fit the rest around them.

Why the autumn calendar is tight at both ends

Leaving in September is not only about the colors. In the north, some activities stop with the summer; in the mountains, roads close with the first snow.

At the start, the travel book only considers the climb up Rishiri-Fuji, in Hokkaidō, reasonable from mid-June to September. If it tempts you, it is the first appointment of an autumn trip, not the last: in October, the volcano is out of reach. We have covered this region in detail in How many days do you need for Hokkaidō?.

At the end, every mountain road has its closing date. Get there before:

• the Shiretoko pass, closed from late October to late April;
• the Zaō Echo Line, which leads to the Okama crater, closed by snow from roughly late October to late April;
• the Bandai-Azuma Skyline, closed from mid-November to early April;
• the Kamikōchi valley, closed from mid-November to mid-April;
• the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route, closed from late November to mid-April.

The order that follows is simple: Shiretoko and the Zaō before the end of October, the Bandai-Azuma and Kamikōchi before mid-November, Tateyama-Kurobe before the end of November. It is the same order as the colors, the north and altitude first. The Alps travel book sums it up: out of season, most of the mountain roads on that stage are simply closed.

Watch out: These closing dates are the ones in our travel books at the time of writing, in September 2026. They shift with snowfall: check them again on the official websites before you leave.

Heading south in autumn: Fuji in clear view, the south after the typhoons

The north-to-south direction has two further advantages. The first concerns Fuji: the travel book for that stage says it is visible very often from November to February, and rarely in summer. November is also the month of Hakone’s maples and of the Lake Kawaguchi corridor. Arriving from the north at that time, you see the colors and the volcano together.

The second concerns the south. The travel book places typhoons from late August to October, with a peak in September around Okinawa, and they are the first to cancel Yakushima flights and Okinawa ferries. It ranks November among the safest months for Okinawa, along with April and May. A trip that ends in the south after the maples therefore gets there after the storm season.

Watch out: In any case, do not schedule a tight international connection after a Yakushima flight, the first to be canceled when a typhoon approaches.

What needs booking because of the maples

The foliage season fills the same places everyone is aiming for. The travel books flag several:

• the ryokan of Ginzan Onsen and Sukayu, to be booked several months ahead in high season;
• accommodation on the Fuji plateau, which fills up months in advance in maple season;
• the Rikugi-en night openings, with a ticket to buy online;
• the Shiretoko Five Lakes, where, outside the brown bear period and until October 20, you need a ticket and an information session that can be booked up to ten days ahead.

The full list is in What to book in advance for a trip to Japan, and when.

How to avoid the maple crowds

The most photographed places are also the most besieged in season, and arriving early in the morning remains the only real remedy. The travel books name four:

• the Akechidaira terrace, above Lake Chūzenji, gets guaranteed traffic jams in mid-October, when the whole Kantō comes to see Nikkō’s maples;
• Chūson-ji in Hiraizumi, in Tōhoku, where the travel book advises arriving early in maple season;
• the Chūreitō pagoda, the most reproduced shot in Japan with Fuji behind it, even busier when its maples turn red in late November;
• Kamakura, overrun at autumn weekends, with lines at the station entrances of the little Enoden train.

Tip: For these four places, aim for a weekday rather than the weekend.

So, should you go to Japan in autumn for the kōyō?

Yes, as long as you travel in the right direction. From north to south, setting off from Hokkaidō in September, you follow the colors from the Daisetsuzan to Nikkō and then Hakone, and you get over the high roads before they close. In the other direction, you arrive too early in Tokyo and too late in Hokkaidō. To travel down the whole country in this season, Japan from north to south in 88 days follows that direction, from Sapporo to Okinawa, within the ninety-day visa-free limit explained in How many days in Japan? The real length, region by region.

No, if you are looking for a guarantee. Nobody can promise that a maple will be red on a given date. Following the front reduces the risk, it does not remove it, and a warm year can shift the whole season.

With less time, it is better to aim for a single region at its moment. The Hokkaidō stage for the first colors, from mid-September to late September, Tōhoku for mid-October, or Nikkō, the Alps and Hokuriku for late October. The other regions are on the Japan page.