Cherry blossoms and autumn leaves

To see the cherry blossoms in Japan, travel between late March and mid-April: according to the 1991-2020 averages of the JMA (Japan Meteorological Agency), the first flowers open around 24 March in Tokyo, 26 March in Kyoto and 3 April in Kanazawa, with full bloom about a week later. For autumn colour, aim for mid-November to the first week of December, when the maples turn red in Kanazawa, then Tokyo, then Kyoto. These two seasons are also when hotels and trains fill up fastest.

Hanami and momiji: what you come to see

Hanami, literally "looking at flowers", is the outing under the cherry blossoms, the sakura: people stroll, picnic under the trees, and many parks and temples light up their cherry trees in the evening. The Kyoto city tourism association describes three families of tree. Somei yoshino, the most common variety in Japan, flowers before its leaves appear, so the whole tree looks pale pink. Shidarezakura, the weeping cherry, graces temple gardens. Yamazakura, the mountain cherry, opens its flowers together with reddish-brown leaves.

Momiji means maple and, by extension, the outing to see the red maples; kōyō refers to autumn foliage in general. In Tokyo, the ginkgo trees turn yellow at the same time as the maples. The colours reach the mountains first, then the cities.

The calendar, city by city

The blossom moves north-east from the south-west; the maples turn from the mountains down to the cities. Average dates for 1991-2020 recorded by the JMA on its sample trees:

Each year differs from these averages by a few days. The JMA publishes observations; blossom forecasts come from private weather companies, and Weathernews will publish its own in February 2027. Our seasons and cherry blossom guide gives the current year's dates and the rest of the calendar: rainy season, typhoons, public holidays.

In spring, Golden Week, a run of Japanese public holidays, falls on 29 April and from 3 to 5 May in 2027: by then the Tokyo and Kyoto blossoms are over, and trains and hotels are full of Japanese travellers.

Region by region

Tokyo

In Tokyo, the week of full bloom, around 31 March, is the one to book earliest. The city's tourism office counts 800 somei yoshino trees in Ueno Park, the museum district, and about 900 cherry trees in Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, where alcohol is banned; the garden costs 500 ¥ (about 3 €), opens at 9am and closes on Mondays. Along the Imperial Palace moat, the Chidorigafuchi walkway becomes a 700 m tunnel of cherry blossom in spring, lit up in the evening from late March to early April. In autumn, maples and ginkgos take on their colours in late November.

Kyoto

In Kyoto, the cherry trees flower from late March to early April. The city tourism association picks out several places:

• the Philosopher's Path, about 2 km beside a canal from Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion, under some 400 cherry trees;
• Maruyama Park, in Gion, and its great weeping cherry, planted in 1949 to replace the previous tree and lit up at night;
• Heian Jingū shrine, built in 1895, whose weeping cherries are reflected in the pond;
• Daigo-ji, where Toyotomi Hideyoshi had more than 700 cherry trees planted for a blossom-viewing banquet;
• Arashiyama Park, on the hill above Togetsukyō Bridge, with mountain cherries over the Hozu River.

In autumn, the maples turn red in the temple gardens in late November and early December. The association singles out the Takao district, in the north-west, and notes that many temples open in the evening to light up their foliage. Maximum temperatures are 20°C in April and 17°C in November.

Nara and Osaka

In Nara, the cherry trees start to flower around 28 March and reach full bloom around 4 April: the 660-hectare park, where deer roam, links Tōdai-ji, Kasuga Taisha and Kōfuku-ji. Osaka follows the same calendar, with full bloom around 4 April and red maples around 1 December.

Kanazawa

In Kanazawa, the cherry trees flower around 3 April, a few days after Kyoto, which lets you stretch the season by heading north to the Sea of Japan coast. Kenrokuen garden opens in the evening, with lighting, during the cherry blossom and the autumn colours; Ishikawa Prefecture announces the dates each year. In the morning, entry is free through the Hasuike-mon and Zuijinzaka gates, from 4am between April and August. The maples turn red around 24 November; from 1 November to mid-December, the gardeners put up the yukitsuri, ropes that hold the branches so they do not snap under the weight of snow.

Hakone

In Hakone, autumn colours spread over the slopes in October and November, with highs of 20°C and then 15°C. In early December, the Ōwakudani-Sōunzan section of the ropeway is closed from 7 to 24 December 2026.

Miyajima and Takayama

On Miyajima, the island of Itsukushima shrine, the Momijidani valley, literally "maple valley", leads to the Mount Misen ropeway; Hiroshima's maples turn red around 22 November on average. In Takayama, which the JMA does not observe, the spring festival, Sannō Matsuri, takes place on 14 and 15 April, and the autumn festival, Hachiman Matsuri, on 9 and 10 October; our Hida, Takayama and Shirakawa-gō page describes them.

Rooms that face the trees

Four hotels in Umika's selection have rooms designed around one of the two seasons:

These rooms are the first to sell for both seasons: book them as soon as sales open.

Planning the trip

In spring, a trip from 28 March to 10 April finds the cherry blossoms, on average, in Tokyo and then Kyoto, and Kanazawa extends the season by a week. The Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto and Osaka in 12 days itinerary follows that order; its recommended months run from March to May and from October to November.

In autumn, a trip from mid-November to the first week of December usually catches the maples in Kanazawa, Tokyo and Kyoto; our Kanazawa, Shirakawa-gō and Takayama in 10 days itinerary passes through all three cities. Shinkansen (bullet train) seats are booked as explained in our trains and Japan Rail Pass guide.