Autumn Leaves Season in Japan | Maple Red-Leaf Dates, Ginkgo Yellow-Leaf Dates and Leaf-Fall Dates Compared by Location Using Japan Meteorological Agency Normals (15 Locations Including Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Sapporo), 2025 Observation Dates and How to Check the 2026 Observation Dates

Overview

Every year, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) observes the "red-leaf date" of maples and the "yellow-leaf date" of ginkgo trees at locations across the country. The red-leaf date is the first day on which most of the leaves of the sample tree have turned red. The yellow-leaf date is the first day on which most of the leaves of the sample tree have turned yellow. This article uses the observation records and normals published by the JMA to compare the autumn leaves season at major locations in Japan. A normal is the average date over the 30 years from 1991 to 2020. The contents were checked on the official websites of the JMA and the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) on November 2, 2026.

• In Tokyo, the normal yellow-leaf date of ginkgo is November 23, and the normal red-leaf date of maple is November 28.
• In Kyoto, the normal yellow-leaf date of ginkgo is November 24, and the normal red-leaf date of maple is December 5. In Osaka, it is November 22 for ginkgo and December 1 for maple.
• In Sapporo, the normal red-leaf date of maple is October 28, the earliest date among the 15 locations in the tables in this article.
• At 12 of the 15 locations in the tables in this article, the normal yellow-leaf date of ginkgo is earlier than the normal red-leaf date of maple.
• The actual observation dates differ from the normals from year to year. In 2025, among the 15 locations in the tables in this article, there was both a location where the maple red-leaf date was 13 days earlier than the normal (Kagoshima) and a location where the ginkgo yellow-leaf date was 16 days later than the normal (Fukuoka).

Comparison

How to read the tables

The two tables below were compiled for this article from the JMA's observation records.

• The "red-leaf date" and the "yellow-leaf date" are each the first day on which, looking at the sample tree as a whole, most of the leaves have turned red (yellow for ginkgo) and almost no green leaves can be seen.
• The "leaf-fall date" is the first day on which about 80% of the leaves of the sample tree have fallen.
• The "normal" is the average date over the 30 years from 1991 to 2020. The "2025" column shows the dates actually observed in 2025.
• The locations are listed roughly from north to south. The values for each location are those of one sample tree observed by that location's meteorological observatory or similar station. The sample tree is either on the grounds of the meteorological observatory or similar station, or in a park or similar place near it (explained in "The sample tree and other trees in the city").

Maple red-leaf dates and leaf-fall dates

• The JMA mainly observes a type of maple called Iroha-kaede. In regions where Iroha-kaede does not grow, it observes another type of maple. In this table, the values for Sapporo are for a type of maple called Yama-momiji, and those for Hakodate are for a type of maple called O-momiji.

Ginkgo yellow-leaf dates and leaf-fall dates

• The largest differences between the 2025 observation date and the normal were, for the maple red-leaf date, Kagoshima (13 days earlier than the normal) and Sapporo (9 days later than the normal), and for the ginkgo yellow-leaf date, Nagoya (8 days earlier than the normal) and Fukuoka (16 days later than the normal).

Areas

The sample tree and other trees in the city

Under the JMA's rules, the sample tree is, as a rule, a single tree on the grounds of a meteorological observatory or similar station. When there is no suitable tree on the grounds, a tree in a park or similar place within roughly 5 km of the meteorological observatory or similar station is chosen. The dates in the tables in this article are the dates of this single tree.

• The JMA's rules state that seasonal changes in plants are easily affected by the weather of the place where they grow. Even within the same city, trees growing in a different place from the sample tree may change color on days other than the dates in the tables.
• The observers also look at the condition of nearby trees of the same type and check that the condition of the sample tree is not very different from theirs.
• According to JNTO, the autumn leaves start in the north of cold Hokkaido and gradually move to regions further south. In each region, the trees in the mountains change color first, and then the trees in the gardens, parks and temples in the cities change color.
• The tables in this article do not include any locations on mountains.

Sapporo and Hakodate in Hokkaido

The normal red-leaf date of maple is October 28 in Sapporo and November 2 in Hakodate. Among the 15 locations in the tables in this article, these two locations have earlier normals than the other locations for both the maple red-leaf date and the ginkgo yellow-leaf date.

Tokyo and Yokohama

In Tokyo, the normal yellow-leaf date of ginkgo (November 23) is earlier than the normal red-leaf date of maple (November 28). In Yokohama, the normal red-leaf date of maple is December 14, later than in Tokyo.

Day trips from Tokyo to Nikko or Hakone are explained in Day Trip from Tokyo to Nikko | Tobu Limited Expresses from Asakusa (SPACIA X, Revaty) Compared with Routes from Shinjuku and Tokyo Station, NIKKO PASS vs. Individual Ticket Totals, and a Route to Toshogu and Rinnoji Before Closing and Hakone Day Trip from Tokyo | Route and Times for the Hakone Golden Course in One Day, the Last Boat and Ropeway Hours, Doing the Loop in Reverse, and Hakone Freepass vs. Separate Tickets.

Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and Kobe

The normal red-leaf date of maple is December 5 in Kyoto, December 1 in Osaka and Kobe, and November 21 in Nara. The normal leaf-fall date of maple in Kyoto is December 18.

How to get around Kyoto by bus is explained in Kyoto City Bus and Subway: How to Ride and Fares | Paying Fares, IC Cards, and the Subway & Bus 1-Day Pass, and travel between Osaka, Kyoto and Nara is explained in Getting Around Osaka, Kyoto and Nara by Train | Fares and Travel Times on JR, Hankyu, Keihan and Kintetsu, and Which Stations to Use.

Okinawa Prefecture

Naha in Okinawa Prefecture is not included in the JMA's tables of observation records for the maple red-leaf date and the ginkgo yellow-leaf date.

Itinerary

Check the 2026 observation dates on the JMA's pages

On the JMA's official website, the phenological observation information section has pages that list that year's observation dates. There are separate pages for the maple red-leaf date, the maple leaf-fall date, the ginkgo yellow-leaf date and the ginkgo leaf-fall date, and every page is updated once a day at around 08:35.

• For each location, the pages show the observation dates for the previous year and this year, and the difference from the normal (how many days earlier or later). Locations where the observation has not been made yet are shown as "-".
• The pages are in Japanese only. The names of the locations are written in kanji. On the pages, the 15 locations in the tables in this article are written in the following kanji: 札幌・函館・仙台・長野・金沢・東京・横浜・名古屋・京都・大阪・神戸・奈良・広島・福岡・鹿児島.
• When checked on November 2, 2026, among the 15 locations in the tables in this article, the only 2026 observation date listed was the ginkgo yellow-leaf date in Kanazawa (October 26, 15 days earlier than the normal).

See the 2026 forecast

This article does not cover forecasts of the autumn leaves season. The "Autumn Leaves Forecast 2026" page on JNTO's official website has a table of forecasts for 2026 based on data from the Japan Weather Association.

• This page is written in English.
• The dates in the "Average" column of the table on the page are the same dates as the normal red-leaf dates of maple in this article.
• The page states that the forecasts may change depending on the weather.

Public holiday in November

Monday, November 23, 2026 is Labor Thanksgiving Day, a public holiday. From Saturday, November 21 to Monday, November 23, a Saturday, a Sunday and a public holiday fall on 3 consecutive days. On days when many people in Japan have a day off, tourist spots and trains tend to be crowded.

Public holidays and long weekends in 2027 are explained in Japan Public Holidays 2027 and Busy Periods | New Year, Golden Week, Obon, 3-Day Weekends, Shinkansen Busy Seasons and All-Reserved Nozomi. Temperatures and snow from December to February are explained in Japan Winter Weather and Temperatures | December, January and February Normals by Location (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Sapporo, Kawaguchiko, Naha in Okinawa), Days with Snow or Sleet and Sunset Times.

Good to know

• A normal is the average date over the 30 years from 1991 to 2020. The actual observation dates can be earlier or later than the normals, depending on the year.
• The dates in the tables are the dates of the single sample tree at each location. They differ from the days on which other trees in the same city, or trees in the mountains, change color.
• The "red-leaf date" and the "yellow-leaf date" do not indicate the day when the autumn leaves are at their most beautiful.
• The observation dates on the JMA's pages are updated every day. The 2026 observation dates in this article are those checked on November 2, 2026.
• The forecasts are data from the Japan Weather Association shown on JNTO's page, not observation records of the JMA.