Tokyo Fall Foliage Guide: Best Viewing Times and Places to Visit

Meiji Jingu Gaien is the outer precinct of Meiji Jingu, established in 1926. Centered around the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery, the grounds include Meiji Jingu Stadium, various other sports facilities, and seasonal natural scenery. The approximately 300-meter ginkgo avenue running from Aoyama-dori Avenue to the gallery is particularly famous, forming a striking golden tunnel in autumn.
When the foliage reaches its peak, the Jingu Gaien Ginkgo Festival is held, offering food from across Japan alongside views of the trees. The avenue is also illuminated, making it a good place to visit at night.

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden traces its roots to the grounds of a samurai residence during the Edo period. It became an imperial garden in 1906 and was later opened to the public. Its expansive grounds feature three distinct styles: a traditional Japanese garden, a formal garden, and a landscape garden. It is regarded as one of Japan’s finest modern Western-style gardens.
In autumn, each garden is colored by fall foliage and offers a different seasonal view. The formal garden’s avenue of plane trees is especially popular for photographs, with golden trees rising above a carpet of fallen leaves.

Covering 544,711.27 square meters, Yoyogi Park offers abundant greenery and waterside scenery that feels far removed from central Tokyo. The park is divided by a road into a wooded park area to the north and a southern plaza area with an outdoor stage and athletic facilities.
Approximately 1,300 broadleaf trees from six species, including zelkova and ginkgo, grow throughout the park, making it ideal for an autumn walk. The sight of golden ginkgo trees rising above a carpet of fallen leaves is particularly memorable.

Located beside Marunouchi’s business district, the Imperial Palace East Gardens offer traces of Edo history alongside the autumn scenery of Musashino. Visitors can explore the former Edo Castle grounds, where stone walls and guardhouses remain, free of charge.
The main attraction in fall is the woodland in the Ninomaru area. Yellow konara oak and sawtooth oak leaves overlap with red maples, creating a simple beauty reminiscent of a rural woodland. In the neighboring Ninomaru Garden, look for colorful leaves reflected in the pond. The trees gradually change color from mid-November to mid-December each year.
Continue to Kitanomaru Park for a half-day walk through castle ruins and fall foliage.

Opened in 1903, Hibiya Park is Japan’s oldest Western-style park. Its spacious 16-hectare grounds are filled with trees, lawns, and colorful flowers, making it a popular place to relax within the business district.
The Large Fountain and Fountain Plaza are currently closed for renovation, but visitors can still enjoy seasonal scenery around the Head-Hanging Ginkgo and Kumogata Pond. The park contains many deciduous trees, including ginkgo and maple, which add color throughout the grounds in autumn.
Atmospheric seasonal views can be found around Kumogata Pond and Japan’s third-oldest fountain.

During the Edo period, Hama-rikyu Gardens was known as Hama Goten and served as a villa of the Tokugawa shogun’s family. It later became an imperial detached palace before being granted to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and opened to the public in 1945.
The seawater pond changes in appearance as the tide rises and falls. A teahouse stands within the pond, where visitors can enjoy matcha in a traditional setting.
In autumn, the colorful garden can also be viewed from the teahouse.

Shiba Park was one of the first places designated as a public park in Japan in 1873.
Its main autumn attraction is the scenery created by colorful maple and ginkgo trees with Tokyo Tower in the background. Throughout the park, red and yellow trees blend with historic temples, shrines, and green spaces, creating a peaceful atmosphere that feels removed from the city.
The artificial ravine known as Momiji Valley is particularly impressive, with rocky scenery, trees, and a waterfall that make it ideal for a walk.

Walk from the garden of a Western-style residence into a forest carpeted with fallen leaves. Located next to each other in Shirokanedai, the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum and the Institute for Nature Study offer contrasting autumn scenery within walking distance.
At the museum, the garden surrounding the former residence of Prince Asaka, built in the Art Deco style, takes on autumn colors. The maples around the Koka teahouse are also worth seeing, and garden-only admission is available. The foliage is generally at its best from late November to early December. The Institute for Nature Study, meanwhile, contains approximately 20 hectares of forest. Maples and konara oaks change color in succession, with autumn scenery lasting until around mid-December. Following the paths through the fallen leaves gradually leaves the noise of central Tokyo behind.

Located in Tokyo’s Taito City, Ueno Park is officially known as Ueno Onshi Park. Managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Bureau of Construction, this historic park covers 530,000 square meters. Made up of the Ueno hill area and Shinobazu Pond, it features diverse greenery and waterside scenery, creating an urban oasis.
It is one of Tokyo’s leading sightseeing destinations and attracts visitors from Japan and abroad for its cherry blossoms in spring. It is also known for fall foliage, with colorful trees complementing the park’s many attractions.

Located in the Korakuen area of Bunkyo City, this is a circuit-style garden centered around a pond, with artificial hills and springs. The grounds represent four types of scenery: the sea, mountains, rivers, and countryside, revealing changing views with every step. Chinese landscapes and design elements, including the Engetsukyo Bridge and Seiko Embankment, are also incorporated, creating a harmonious blend of Japanese and Chinese aesthetics.
In autumn, colorful Japanese maples and zelkova trees add vivid accents to this elegant setting.

Kiyosumi Gardens is a circuit-style landscape garden centered on a pond, artificial hills, and dry landscape elements.
One of its main autumn attractions is the sight of maple and ginkgo trees reflected on the water, a scene characteristic of a pond-centered circuit garden. Around the large pond in particular, red and yellow leaves harmonize with stone arrangements and old trees to create atmospheric seasonal scenery. Walking slowly through the grounds reveals a different expression of autumn from each viewpoint.

Mizumoto Park was developed along the Koaidame reservoir and features picturesque waterside scenery. Its spacious grounds cover approximately 96 hectares and include a poplar avenue and a forest of dawn redwoods, making it well suited to leisurely walks among the trees.
In autumn, visitors can sit on a bench and take in the waterside scenery lined with colorful trees. It is a good choice for anyone looking for a relaxed foliage walk.

Rikugien Gardens is a circuit-style garden with artificial hills and a pond, created over seven years beginning in 1695. Designated a Special Place of Scenic Beauty, it is regarded alongside Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens as one of the two great gardens of Edo.
At the height of the foliage season, approximately 560 Japanese maples, ginkgo trees, and other trees change color throughout the grounds, decorating the stately Japanese garden. Walking through the elegant autumn scenery may feel like stepping back in time. At night, the garden is illuminated, revealing a different side of its beauty.

This garden was created as the residence of Toranosuke Furukawa, the third head of the Furukawa business family. Its design takes advantage of its location on the slope of the Musashino Plateau, with a Western-style residence on a hill to the north, a Western garden on the slope, and a Japanese garden on the lower ground.
The Japanese garden is the main attraction during the foliage season. Japanese maples, wax trees, and ginkgo trees surround the Shinji Pond, while the tea garden in front of the teahouse and the area around the stone water basin offer photogenic contrasts between green moss and red fallen leaves.

Asukayama Park spreads across a hill in front of Oji Station. Tokugawa Yoshimune developed it as a cherry blossom destination, making it a recreation area with ties to the Edo period. Riding the free Asukargo monorail up the hill is part of the experience.
In autumn, maples and trident maples change color. Take a leisurely walk along the hillside paths and view the foliage alongside passing streetcars. Bankoro and the Seien Bunko Library, both associated with Eiichi Shibusawa, are designated Important Cultural Properties of Japan. Surrounded by colorful leaves, these Taisho-period buildings add historical character to an autumn walk. The park’s three museums also offer opportunities to explore local history and culture.

Mejiro Garden is about a five-minute walk through a residential neighborhood from Mejiro Station. Hidden behind a wall, this small Japanese garden features maples surrounding a pond, a waterfall, and buildings constructed in the traditional sukiya style. On calm days, the colorful trees are reflected on the water, creating an inverted foliage view. Walk slowly around the pond to appreciate how the garden changes from different angles.
Daytime admission is free. A paid nighttime illumination is also generally held in autumn, when the lighting highlights the foliage and its reflections on the water. Check the official website for dates and admission details before visiting.

Featuring broad lawns and a wild bird sanctuary, Hikarigaoka Park is home to an approximately 200-meter ginkgo avenue that turns golden in autumn.
The foliage is generally at its best from mid- to late November. Fallen leaves cover the ground beneath the straight avenue, surrounding visitors in yellow from overhead to underfoot. Another highlight is the ginkgo trees along Fureai-no-Michi, which are over 100 years old and were transplanted from the former Tokyo Metropolitan Government building.
Admission is free. Visitors can take photographs along the avenue or relax on the lawn beneath the open sky. Allow plenty of time to explore this spacious park at a leisurely pace.

Otaguro Park is about a 10-minute walk from the south exit of Ogikubo Station, served by JR and the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line. Suginami City developed the former residence of music critic Motoo Otaguro into a circuit-style Japanese garden and opened it as a public park. In addition to the garden, the grounds include a teahouse that can host tea gatherings and a memorial hall housed in the Western-style building that once served as Otaguro’s study.
The park is also known for its fall foliage and attracts many visitors during the peak season. Particularly popular areas include the pond near the arbor and the avenue of large ginkgo trees said to be over 100 years old. At night, the foliage is illuminated, creating an atmospheric scene reflected on the pond.

Spanning the cities of Musashino and Mitaka in Tokyo, Inokashira Park opened in 1917 as Japan’s first imperial gift park and celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2017. Covering approximately 430,000 square meters, or about nine times the area of Tokyo Dome, the expansive park is divided into four areas: Inokashira Pond, Gotenyama, the West Garden, and the Second Park. It includes a baseball field, outdoor stage, boating area, and the Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, attracting many visitors for events and sightseeing.
In autumn, colorful Japanese maples, ginkgo trees, and zelkova trees are reflected on the surface of Inokashira Pond.

Jindai Botanical Gardens and the neighboring Jindaiji Temple are about 15 minutes by bus from Chofu Station on the Keio Line. Together, they offer an autumn outing that combines a foliage walk, a visit to an ancient temple, and the area’s famous soba noodles. A highlight of the botanical gardens is the Maple Garden, which contains a variety of maple species. The leaves generally reach their peak from late November to early December, overlapping in layers of red and yellow. The woodland and areas beside the pond also change color, revealing different autumn views as you walk.
After exploring the gardens, continue to Jindaiji Temple, said to have been founded in 733. Pass through the maple-framed temple gate to worship, then try Jindaiji soba at one of the restaurants near the entrance. Allow half a day to explore the natural scenery and historic temple at a leisurely pace.

This museum introduces the history, folk culture, and natural environment of Fuchu in western Tokyo. Its approximately 140,000-square-meter grounds contain the main museum building as well as traditional farmhouses, townhouses, and other historic structures. The spacious grounds are filled with trees and flowers, including many broadleaf species that turn vivid shades of red and yellow in autumn.
Momiji Falls, where countless maple trees surround a waterfall, is an especially good place for photographs. After viewing the foliage, stop at the teahouse for a break. Visitors can experience matcha in a traditional Japanese sukiya-style building. Sipping tea while looking out at the colorful trees makes for a relaxing moment.

Across grounds approximately 40 times the area of Tokyo Dome, visitors will find lawns, fountains, sports courts, gardens with seasonal flowers, and ponds where waterside plants can be observed. The park also has various facilities where visitors can learn about coexistence with plants and nature, along with numerous events and hands-on programs.
There are two notable places to view golden foliage: the approximately 300-meter Katarai Ginkgo Avenue lined with 98 trees and the approximately 200-meter avenue along the canal lined with 106 trees. Each forms a golden tunnel with a different atmosphere for visitors to explore at a leisurely pace.

Mt. Takao is a 599-meter mountain in Hachioji, Tokyo. With convenient access and trails suitable for a casual sightseeing hike, it is popular with a wide range of visitors, from families with small children to older adults. Approximately three million people visit each year, and it is also known as the world’s most-climbed mountain.
Mt. Takao is one of Tokyo’s best-known foliage destinations. In autumn, the mountain is covered in a mixture of red, yellow, and green. Easier routes are available, allowing beginners to take in the foliage while hiking.

Located in Ome, Tokyo, Mitake Gorge was formed by the upper reaches of the Tama River. Its clear water, selected as one of Japan’s 100 Remarkable Waters, combines with distinctive rocks and surrounding trees to create impressive valley scenery.
The approximately 4-kilometer Mitake Gorge Promenade begins near JR Mitake Station, providing an accessible way to see the gorge while also visiting the Gyokudo Art Museum and Ozawa Shuzo, known for its Sawanoi sake. The scenery becomes even more vivid in autumn, when both banks of the river are colored by maples, ginkgo trees, and zelkovas.

Akigawa Valley extends for approximately 20 kilometers from Akiruno City to Hinohara Village. Located about an hour west of central Tokyo, it offers an abundance of nature that feels far removed from the city. Walking trails, barbecue areas, and accommodations make it a popular and accessible outdoor destination.
In autumn, the trees take on vivid colors, covering the valley in shades of red and yellow. The view of the colorful valley from Ishibune Bridge, a symbol of the area, is particularly impressive.

Lake Okutama straddles Tokyo and Yamanashi. This artificial lake was created by damming the upper Tama River and has one of Japan’s largest storage capacities among reservoirs used exclusively for water supply. The area surrounding the lake is part of Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park and is enclosed by mountains and expansive natural scenery.
In autumn, the surrounding mountains change color, creating picturesque reflections on the lake. The different appearance of each mountain is another highlight.
With a variety of activity facilities and hot springs nearby, the area offers an autumn getaway about two hours from central Tokyo.