Discover the Best Spots for Autumn Foliage: a Guide to Enjoying Fall Colors in Tokyo

Showa Kinen Park, roughly equivalent to the size of 40 Tokyo Domes, is dotted with lush lawns, fountains, sports courts, gardens with seasonal flowers, and ponds where one can appreciate aquatic plants. Numerous facilities offer a chance to learn about coexistence with nature and plants. The park also hosts various events and experiential programs. Among the highlights during the autumn season are two avenues of ginkgo trees: the Katara's Ginkgo Avenue, lined with 98 ginkgos stretching over about 300m, and the Canal-Side Avenue, adorned with 106 ginkgos spanning approximately 200m. Both avenues offer different scenic views, enabling visitors to leisurely walk through two golden tunnels.

Established in 1926, Meiji Jingu Gaien is the outer precinct of the Meiji Shrine. Centered around the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery, it houses various sports facilities, including the Jingu Stadium, and offers visitors a chance to immerse themselves in nature throughout the seasons. A renowned spot in the garden is the ginkgo avenue that stretches about 300m from Aoyama Street to the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery. In autumn, this avenue transforms into a golden tunnel, offering a breathtaking view. When the autumn colors peak, the Jingu Gaien Ginkgo Festival takes place, allowing visitors to try tasty eats from all over Japan while marveling at the ginkgo trees. The ginkgo avenue is illuminated in the evenings, making it a beautiful spot to visit even at night.

Established over a span of seven years from 1695, Rikugien is a traditional Japanese garden featuring a stroll-style landscape with artificial hills and ponds. It is designated as a special place of scenic beauty by the national government and, along with Koishikawa Korakuen, is counted among the two major gardens of Edo. As autumn peaks, approximately 560 maple trees, ginkgos, and other varieties color every corner of the garden, adding to its majestic allure. Wandering through this elegant space, adorned with autumn leaves, can evoke a sense of time-travel. During the fall season, the garden is illuminated in the evening, providing a different and enchanting view compared to daytime.

Located about a 10-minute walk from the south exit of Ogikubo Station served by the JR and Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line, Otaguro Park is set on the former estate of music critic Motoo Otaguro. Suginami Ward has redeveloped the site into a stroll-style Japanese garden. Not just limited to the garden, Otaguro Park also houses a tea room suitable for tea ceremonies and a western-style building, which was once Motoo Otaguro's workplace, now serving as a memorial hall. Recognized as a spot for autumn leaves, the park attracts many tourists during the peak season. Particularly popular are the azumaya (resting place) around the pond and the row of ginkgo trees, believed to be over 100 years old. At night, the fall colors are illuminated in a magical fanfare that dances across the pond’s surface.

Situated in the Korakuen area of Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, this garden features a stroll-style landscape centered around a pond. Within the garden, visitors can appreciate four distinct landscapes depicting the sea, mountains, rivers, and rural areas. As one wanders through the garden, the scenery evolves with every step. Infused with elements such as the Engetsu-kyo (crescent moon bridge) and Seiko no Tsutsumi (West Lake embankment), the garden mirrors famous Chinese landscapes and styles, presenting a harmonious blend of Japanese and Chinese aesthetics. As autumn approaches, trees like the Japanese maple and zelkova add color to this harmonized world, making it even more refined and elegant. Among the numerous attractions within the garden, the Tsuutenkyo area stands out as a particularly breathtaking spot.

Located in Taito Ward, Tokyo, this park is officially named "Ueno Onshi Park." Managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Construction Bureau, it spans over 530,000 square meters and boasts a rich history. The park consists of Ueno Hill and Shinobazu Pond, offering a variety of green spaces and waterfront vistas, serving as a refreshing oasis in the midst of the bustling city. As one of the premier tourist attractions representing Tokyo, it is a renowned cherry blossom viewing spot in spring, attracting tourists from both Japan and overseas. It's also a popular destination for autumn foliage. The combination of the park's attractions with the colorful leaves provides an unforgettable sight.

Hama-Rikyu Gardens, historically referred to as "Hama Palace," once served as a villa for the Tokugawa shogunate and later became a detached palace for the imperial family. In 1945, it was bestowed to Tokyo Metropolis and has since been opened to the public. A distinctive feature of the gardens is the tidal pond, which undergoes aesthetic changes in tandem with the ebb and flow of the tides. Within the pond stands a traditional tea house where visitors can savor matcha tea, an experience highly recommended for its added sense of historical ambiance. During the autumn season, the landscape is painted in vibrant hues of foliage, offering a picturesque view from the tea house.

Rooted in the samurai residences of the Edo period, Shinjuku Gyoen emerged as an imperial garden in 1906 and later opened its doors to the public. This vast garden is distinguished by its unique brocade of three different styles: traditional Japanese, formal, and landscape gardens, standing as a testament to modern Western garden designs. As fall sets in, each garden section takes on an autumnal canvas, enabling visitors to relish distinct scenic views. The avenue of plane trees in the formal garden is particularly acclaimed. As these trees adopt a golden hue and shed their leaves, they create a carpet of foliage, making the area a favored spot for photographers.

Yoyogi Park, spanning a vast area of 544,711.27㎡, offers an expansive landscape of lush greenery and water that seems almost out of place in the heart of the city. The park is divided into two sections separated by a road: the forested northern area and the southern plaza district, which houses an open-air stage, sports facilities, and more. The park boasts approximately 1,300 trees, including six varieties of broadleaf trees like zelkova (keyaki) and ginkgo (ichou), making it a prime spot for autumn leaf-viewing. Visitors shouldn't miss the captivating sight of golden ginkgo trees lining pathways, set against a carpet of fallen leaves.

Straddling both Musashino City and Mitaka City in Tokyo, Inokashira Park is historically significant, having opened in 1917 as Japan's first imperial gift park. It celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2017. The park covers an area equivalent to around nine Tokyo Domes, roughly 380,000 square meters, and is divided into four zones: Inokashira Pond, Goten-yama, West Park, and the Second Park. It features various facilities including a baseball field, open-air stage, and boating area. The park is also home to the renowned Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, attracting numerous visitors for events and sightseeing. During the autumn, the vivid foliage of maple, ginkgo, and zelkova trees reflects beautifully on the waters of Inokashira Pond.

Mizumoto Park, built alongside the Koai Reservoir, offers a scenic water landscape. With an expansive area of about 96 hectares, the park features pathways lined with poplar trees and a Metasequoia forest, making it an ideal location for leisurely strolls and forest bathing. During the fall, you can sit on a bench and leisurely gaze at the waterfront, adorned with vibrant trees. For easy going strolls against an autumn-esque backdrop, this is the place to go.

Kinuta Park is beautifully designed to incorporate natural terrain, consisting mainly of grassy fields and woodlands. The Family Park area features gently rolling lawns, and come spring, about 840 cherry blossom trees bloom in full glory. With approximately 1,000 Zelkova (keyaki), Ginkgo (ichou), and Maple (momiji) trees, the park is also a fantastic spot for viewing autumn leaves. Visitors can fully immerse themselves in the ambiance of autumn, with trees showcasing a blend of reds and yellows and fallen leaves carpeting the ground.

Opened in 1903, Hibiya Park is Japan's oldest Western-style park. Spanning over 16 hectares, the park is a verdant haven dotted with trees, lawns, and vibrant flowers, offering respite amidst the bustling business district. The park's most iconic feature is the "Grand Fountain," operational from 8 am to 9 pm, offering visitors a visual feast with 24 different displays on a 28-minute cycle. The park is also abundant with trees that turn vibrant colors in autumn, such as Ginkgo (Ichou) and Maple (Momiji). As the leaves change colors, you can witness picturesque autumnal scenes throughout the park, particularly around Japan's third-oldest fountain and the uniquely shaped Kumogata Pond.

Located in Hachioji City, Tokyo, Mount Takao stands at an elevation of 599 meters. With excellent accessibility, it's a popular destination for those who wish to enjoy a casual climb. It attracts a wide range of visitors, from families with small children to the elderly, with around 3 million visitors each year, making it famously known as the mountain with the highest number of climbers in the world. As a renowned spot for viewing fall foliage in Tokyo, the mountain offers a kaleidoscope of colors — red, yellow, and green — in autumn. With various trails of low difficulty, even novice climbers can enjoy a picturesque autumn hike.

Stretching around 20km from Akiruno City to Hinohara Village, the Akigawa Valley is about an hour's drive west from the city center and offers nature so rich, it's hard to believe it's in Tokyo. With pathways, barbecue spots, and lodging facilities, it's a popular destination for those looking to enjoy the outdoors with ease. In the fall, the trees light up with vivid colors, painting the gorge in hues of red and yellow. The view of the gorge, drenched in rich colors, from the iconic Ishifune Bridge is absolutely breathtaking.

Straddling Tokyo and Yamanashi, Lake Okutama is a man-made lake formed by damming the upper reaches of the Tama River. Boasting the largest storage capacity for a water supply dam in Japan, its surroundings are designated as Chichibu Tama Kai National Park. The vast natural landscape encircled by mountains is a sight to behold, especially in autumn when the surrounding mountains take on colorful hues, reflecting their beauty on the lake's surface. The varying autumnal expressions of each mountain are a highlight, and with recreational facilities and hot springs nearby, it's a perfect spot for a short autumn getaway just about two hours from central Tokyo.

Located in Ome City, Tokyo, the Mitake Gorge is a natural beauty crafted by the upper streams of the Tama River. Renowned for its pristine waters, which have been selected as one of the "Top 100 Waters of Japan", visitors can enjoy the splendid gorge beauty woven together by the unique rock formations and surrounding trees. Starting at JR Mitake Station and stretching for about 4km is the Mitake Gorge Promenade, offering not just a scenic view of the gorge but also a path to attractions like the Tamado Art Museum, Sawanoi Sake Brewery, and Ozawa Sake Brewery. The grandeur of the gorge becomes even more striking in autumn, adorned with maple, ginkgo, and zelkova trees.