Kyoto Autumn Leaves: Japan’s Most Colorful Season

I’ll admit that our trip to Japan was a bit last minute, but that didn’t mean our timing was totally random. For years, we had been wanting to experience one of the country’s most stunning natural spectacles, the Technicolor fall foliage season. Autumn leaves? Don’t you mean cherry blossoms?

No. While most Westerners associate the country with the world famous spring cherry blossoms, many Asian tourists are equally drawn to Japan’s gorgeous fall colors, which for religious and cultural reasons have become something quite unlike anything else on the planet.

Why Japan’s Autumn Leaves Season Is so Special

There are many phenomenal destinations for fall leaves including well-known locations in New England and Eastern Canada. And the shining star of Japan’s fall colors, the Japanese maple, is native to several other countries including Korea, China and Mongolia. So what makes Japan so special?

While the natural displays of color in mountains throughout Eastern Asia are all quite impressive, it’s the impact of Japan’s culture and religion on the trees that takes the spectacle to new levels. Japanese have always had a great interest in collecting and cultivating beautiful plants as well as a distinct aesthetic for “artificial natural beauty,” something that seems quite strange to Westerners.

For thousands of years, Shinto priests and later Buddhist monks have gathered unique specimens cultivating and grafting them into unique blends that have produced surreal forests around many shrines and temples with colors and leaf shapes that are strikingly diverse. The epicenter of this unique art form is Kyoto. Some trees here boast extraordinary neon hues that shift color with the moving sun.

For example, I’m sure you’re thinking that I went nuts with the saturation in the photo of Thomas above, but I have not touched the saturation of a single photo in this entire post! That particular picture was taken at the Eikando Temple at around 4:45 PM. The neon effect in the leaves was really only visible for a matter of minutes before is shifted again into a spicy hot red more like the leaves in the lead picture.

Timing Your Visit for the Kyoto Autumn Leaves Season

Clearly, timing is everything. The obvious question is when you should visit Kyoto to experience the fall colors at their peak. Unfortunately, nature doesn’t really work that way. The best time for the Kyoto autumn leaves (紅葉 京都) is generally from early November to early December, but the peak days can vary dramatically from year to year. And climate change seems to be making it even harder to predict those days.

To make the situation even more confusing, what represents a peak day? We stayed in Kyoto for a month and witnessed the fall foliage season from beginning to end. It was clear that most tours and Kyoto autumn leaves prediction sites consider the “peak days” the moment in time when the leaves are reddest.

However, we personally considered the peak days the moment in time when the leaves were most multi-colored, which is really in the earlier stages of the change. The ginkgo trees also go bright yellow during the earlier period, which is a major bonus.

When we visited in 2016, the colorful leaves peaked around November 16-18. There was a cold snap on November 19 which seemed to accelerate the change, and peak red seemed to occur around November 20-23. Ironically, the tourist hordes seemed to arrive in the last week of November just as the red leaves were starting to fall off the trees, which leads me to believe that the peak was a little earlier than expected.

Compare our experience to other years. In 2015, unusually warm weather pushed the multicolor peak to the end of November and the peak red into early December. In 2017, the Kyoto fall colors reached their multicolor peak from November 15-16 and their red peak from November 21-23, which is considered early, but was almost the same as during our visit.

It’s also important to point out that the peak days also depend on which temples and shrines you are visiting, some are better earlier, some later. So part of the challenge is determining which of Kyoto’s 1600+ temples and shrines to visit on any particular day. So how should you decide?

It might sound stupid, but you would be amazed by how many hundred-person tour group leaders don’t get one very basic idea: ask locals and tourist information offices for advice on what is currently peaking and listen to what they say.

We also highly recommend Japan-Guide.com’s amazing annual autumn leaves report for detailed timing information on various well-known sites. This site is a priceless resource when planning your daily visits. Those who do their homework will be richly rewarded with gorgeous leaf pictures!!!

Best Places to See Kyoto Autumn Leaves

Which brings us to the second most obvious question. Where are the best places in Kyoto to see the autumn leaves in all their glory? With over 1,600 temples and shrines in Kyoto, the answer is actually easier than you might think: Go to the temples and shrines where the fall colors are peaking when you visit.

Having said that, our favorite overall site was easily Eikando Temple, which boasts a stunningly surreal collection of trees. Almost half the pictures in this post were taken at Eikando. We also really loved the off-the-beaten-track Shinnyodo Temple, a large site which locals seem to be trying to keep to themselves.

We also recommend visiting the Togetsukyo Bridge in Arashiyama where you can check out the more “natural” version of the changing autumn leaves in the surrounding hills. Most importantly, we suggest visitors take a bit of time to explore the backstreets, parks, and off-the-track temples, many of which provide top-notch autumn leaves experiences which rival any of the big-name temples.

Speaking of big-name temples, fall foliage fans should be aware that there is A LOT of hype surrounding the Kyoto autumn leaves season. Many online resources single out certain sites for specific photo opportunities: Kiyomizu-dera is known for its balcony shot, Tofuku-ji for its bridges, Daigo-ji for its lakeside pavilion. Similarly, nightly fall foliage illuminations at big-name temples seeking to profit off the Kyoto autumn leaves crowds are really much more about the lights than leaves.

If you are a photographer, you will go to these locations. But try not to restrict yourself to these crowded temples, allow yourself to explore some of the less crowded locations to experience the colorful autumn leaves at their best. Many of our favorite moments in Kyoto were not at designated fall foliage temples.

Yes, we encourage you to strike out on your own, but for those who have read this far, we will provide a list below of what are generally considered the top Kyoto autumn leaves sites as well as links to additional resources to help you organize your trip.

Top Kyoto Autumn Leaves Sites

We visited over 50 temples and shrines as well as a large number of parks and gardens during our time in Kyoto and these were some of the highlights we recommend for fall foliage fans. DO NOT assume a high entry fee equates to a better autumn leaves experience, many of our favorite temples and fall foliage locations were free. So here are some great walks, parks, and the best temples in Kyoto for autumn leaves.

Eikando Temple (entry fee) – Eikando was our favorite Kyoto autumn leaves location. In full color, the temple’s maples are a site to behold. It also has some gorgeous ginkgos. Don’t miss the opportunity to sip a hot cup of their amazing traditional sweet sake-like drink. Yum!

Arashiyama Hills (free) – This is a Kyoto must-see. It’s one of the best places in the city to see the wild maples changing. There are many trails leading into the surrounding mountains and the walk to Senko-ji Temple offers great riverside views.

Nara Park (park free, entry fee for specific temples) – The park offers spectacular autumn leaves with a large number of massive ginkgos. The sight of the famous Nara deer wandering over a carpet of yellow is pretty awesome.

Shinnyodo Temple (free, but entry fee for Zen stone garden) – This off-the-beaten-track location was one of our favorite fall foliage sites and the lack of entry fee to see the trees means you can check back over and over to see the autumn leaves changing.

Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Temple (entry fee) – There are many well-known (and crowded) fall foliage temples in Arashiyama, but this off-the-beaten-track temple was by far our favorite. Canopies of multicolored maples backing the wild stone memorial markers were a sight to behold.

The Philosopher’s Path (free) – Timed right, this walk can be quite beautiful with colorful Kyoto autumn leaves backing the canal and tons of opportunities to head out into the side streets for more fall foliage discoveries.

Kiyomizu-dera Temple (entry fee) – The balcony surrounded by fire-red trees is on half the postcards in Kyoto. We timed our visit for the red peak, but if we had it to do over, we would have made multiple visits to this temple during the change of the autumn leaves.

Nanzen-ji Temple (entry fee for gardens) – Beautiful fire-red maples and lovely ginkgos in the free portion of the temple, but the real highlight was the zig-zag walkway in the Hojo Garden.

Todai-ji Temple (entry fee) – This is not traditionally on most Kyoto autumn leaves lists, but we thought it really should be. The trees backing the small pond create a gorgeous wall of red, and Japan’s tallest pagoda makes for some great shots.

Daigo-ji Temple (entry fee) – This temple is a bit off the track but it is well-known by photographers for its lakeside pavilion. Unfortunately, we visited a bit too late for the perfect picture.

Kinkaku-ji Temple (entry fee) – The famous Golden Temple is also not on most Kyoto autumn leaves lists, but we actually thought it was quite beautiful and there is a great photo opportunity with the sparkling golden monument ringed in autumn leaves.

Kyoto Autumn Leaves Resources

Japan Guide’s autumn color report – Great list of fall foliage sites with detailed info on timing. We agree with most of their evaluations and rankings. This larger site is also very useful in planning any visit to Japan.

All About Japan’s “The 15 Top Fall Color Spots in Kyoto” – We don’t agree with the ranking, but this is a great list of individual sites.