Fukuoka Fall Foliage Guide: 16 Places to Visit in Autumn

Fukuoka Castle Ruins, located in Maizuru Park, is a convenient place to see fall foliage in central Fukuoka. The park occupies the former site of Fukuoka Castle, whose construction began in 1601 under Nagamasa Kuroda, the first lord of the Fukuoka Domain. Its stone walls and Tamon Turret preserve traces of the castle's past.
In autumn, the large ginkgo trees in the Honmaru and Ninomaru compounds turn golden, while fallen leaves form a yellow carpet at the base of the stone walls. Zelkova, cherry, and Japanese maple trees also change color, creating a varied seasonal palette.
The stone foundation of the former castle keep in the Honmaru compound is particularly recommended. From its elevated stone walls, visitors can look out over the colorful park and the Fukuoka cityscape. Admission is free, making it easy to combine a tour of the castle ruins with fall foliage viewing. Continue to neighboring Ohori Park for a half-day walk that also includes the yellow leaves around the pond.

Yusentei Park was built as a villa in 1754 by Tsugutaka Kuroda, lord of Chikuzen, present-day Fukuoka, and was later developed into Fukuoka City's first traditional Japanese strolling garden centered around a pond. Its approximately 106,700-square-foot grounds feature an impressive pond surrounded by carefully planted trees and shrubs.
The Josuian tearoom in the main building and the garden viewed from the large tatami room both convey a refined, traditional atmosphere. In autumn, around 150 maple trees add color to the grounds. Sipping matcha in the tearoom while viewing the foliage is a relaxing way to appreciate the unhurried passage of time. During the evening event Momiji no Utage, projection mapping illuminates the park, transforming the garden into an atmospheric space filled with colorful leaves and light art.

This shrine in Fukuoka City has close ties to the Kuroda family. During the Edo period, successive lords of the Fukuoka Domain worshiped it as the domain's guardian shrine. Today, it remains known as a place to pray for safe childbirth and the protection of children. Its vermilion shrine buildings stand within leafy grounds offering seasonal scenery throughout the year.
From late November to early December, the maple and ginkgo trees usually change color. Red and yellow leaves surround the vermilion shrine buildings, creating an autumnal scene along the approach. The grounds are also illuminated during the Momiji Festival, revealing the colorful leaves in a different light after dark.

Kamado Shrine in Dazaifu, Fukuoka Prefecture, has a history spanning more than 1,350 years. The shrine is dedicated to Tamayorihime-no-Mikoto and has long been worshiped for blessings in relationships and marriage. It is also associated with protection from misfortune and unfavorable directions.
It is one of Fukuoka's most prominent foliage spots, with around 300 deciduous trees, including maples and ginkgoes, adding color to the grounds. The foliage is especially concentrated around the stone steps along the approach, where vivid red, yellow, and orange leaves sway in the breeze.
The Momiji Festival is held during the peak season. After sunset, the grounds are illuminated, creating a quiet and mysterious atmosphere that contrasts with their bright daytime appearance.

This temple stands on the slopes of 954.5-meter-high Mount Rai in Itoshima, Fukuoka Prefecture. Its wooden standing statue of the Thousand-Armed Kannon and seated statue of the monk Seiga, both created during the Kamakura period (1185–1333), are nationally designated Important Cultural Properties. The temple also houses historically valuable carvings and structures, including wooden statues of Tamonten and Jikokuten designated as cultural properties by Fukuoka Prefecture.
In autumn, colorful foliage spreads across the temple grounds. Particularly impressive is a roughly 400-year-old large maple tree, designated a Natural Monument by Fukuoka Prefecture, whose leaves turn a deep red. Around 200 maple trees also change color in Shinji Garden, a Japanese garden created during the Muromachi period (1336–1573), offering a richly traditional atmosphere.

Located at the foot of Mount Hokotate, Nomiyama Kannonji is a special head temple of the Koyasan Shingon school, a status immediately below its principal head temple.
Believed to offer powerful spiritual blessings, the temple receives more than 1 million visitors annually. It also serves as a center of study and training for many Buddhist monks. Highlights include more than 3,000 Jizo statues dedicated to deceased children, Daishido Hall enshrining Kobo Daishi, and an Inari shrine dedicated to Inari Daimyojin.
The temple grounds and approach each contain more than 1,000 maples and azaleas, whose autumn colors enhance the temple's solemn atmosphere. Among its many foliage spots, the roughly 1,000 enkianthus shrubs planted behind Hyakukannondo Hall are especially striking when they turn the surrounding area vivid red.

Located in Kitakyushu in northeastern Fukuoka Prefecture, this park is one of the city's best-known landmarks. Its grounds contain cultural and sightseeing facilities such as Kokura Castle, Kokura Castle Garden, and the Central Library. Recreational spaces, including the Great Lawn and Murasaki River Waterfront Plaza, also make it a popular gathering place for local residents.
Katsuyama Park is also known for its fall foliage and has many wax trees and ginkgoes, making it a worthwhile autumn destination. The mature zelkova trees around Kokura Castle's keep are particularly impressive. Seasonal illuminations are held during the foliage period, while the Kokura Castle Bamboo Lantern Festival lights 30,000 bamboo lanterns in the castle keep plaza. Do not miss the illuminated autumn scenery after dark.

This panoramic observation deck overlooks the urban area of Kitakyushu. Visitors reach the summit observation deck, located at an elevation of 622 meters, by transferring from a cable car to a slope car. The cable car travels 1,100 meters from the base station to the upper station and climbs 440 meters, making it one of the longest routes of its kind in western Japan. Its fully glazed windows offer expansive views that change with the time of day.
In autumn, the landscape seen from the cable car turns shades of red and yellow. Looking down over the foliage through the large windows creates an impressive panorama. The changing colors of the trees can be viewed at leisure as the car gains elevation. The approximately 6-minute ride offers an aerial journey through the deepening colors of autumn.

With a history spanning nearly 80 years, this botanical garden covers a low hill and serves as a relaxing retreat where visitors can admire seasonal plant life throughout the year. In autumn, around 800 Japanese maple trees and other trees change color, creating a richly seasonal landscape. Since the maples grow throughout the garden, visitors can view trees covered in yellow and crimson leaves while exploring the grounds.
One recommended spot is the Sun-Dappled Path, a quiet area lined with large Japanese maple trees where visitors can fully appreciate the atmosphere of autumn. A foliage festival is held around the peak season, featuring a botanical market, concerts, tea ceremonies, and other activities amid the colorful leaves.

The garden's history began in 1968, when founder Masao Higuchi and his eldest son started clearing the wooded mountain with the goal of planting wisteria and creating a garden that people would want to visit. When the Kawachi Reservoir in Kitakyushu was built, a single wisteria tree that would otherwise have been submerged was transplanted to the present garden as its founding tree. More than 50 years after the land was first cleared, the tree has grown into a large wisteria over 120 years old and continues to delight visitors each year.
From around mid-November, 700 maple trees surrounding the wisteria trellises change color, making the garden a popular foliage destination as well.
In recent years, advance reservations and timed tickets have been required to reduce congestion, so be sure to confirm the details before visiting.

Mount Hiko stands on the border between Fukuoka and Oita prefectures and consists of three peaks rising to approximately 1,200 meters. The mountain itself is regarded as sacred and has long been worshiped as a holy site. It is also known for its fall foliage, attracting many hikers during the peak season to admire sweeping autumn views from the summit.
Near the center of the mountain stands the Hoheiden of Hikosan Jingu Shrine, a shrine building designated as a national Important Cultural Property. The Hikosan Slope Car runs alongside the approach within the shrine grounds, offering a 7-minute aerial ride with views of the colorful leaves. Since the foliage begins near the summit and reaches the foothills later, visitors can enjoy the season here over an extended period.

Located near the center of Fukuoka Prefecture, Akizuki has a long history as a castle town. Development proceeded slowly after the samurai class declined during the Meiji era and the town was left away from major transportation routes. As a result, much of its historical townscape remains today.
Japan has 130 nationally designated Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings. Only four are castle towns, and the entire town of Akizuki is included in the designation. Its atmospheric streets have earned it the nickname “Little Kyoto of Chikuzen.”
Akizuki is also known for its fall foliage. Colorful leaves surround Akizuki Castle Ruins, a designated Fukuoka Prefectural Historic Site, as well as the Honmon Gate, also known as the Kuromon Gate, and Nagayamon Gate, both designated Important Cultural Properties by the prefecture. Food stalls line Sugi-no-Baba Street leading to the castle ruins, allowing visitors to enjoy tea and sweets while admiring the autumn scenery of the old castle town.

This Soto Zen temple stands at the foot of the Mino mountain range in southwestern Fukuoka Prefecture and enshrines Yakushi Ruriko Nyorai as its principal image. Regarded as one of Japan's three great Yakushi temples, it is said to have been founded in 680 to pray for the recovery of the emperor and empress from illness. Also known as the Maple Temple, its grounds are planted with maples throughout, and their autumn colors bring seasonal beauty to the historic site. The area around the main hall is particularly striking, with golden ginkgo leaves contrasting against deep crimson maples.
The observation deck offers panoramic views of the wax tree avenue at Yanagisaka Sone and the Chikugo Plain. The Mino mountain range also has established hiking trails, where visitors can take in autumn views accompanied by the sound of birdsong.

Motoyoshizan Kiyomizudera Temple stands amid abundant nature deep within Mount Kiyomizu in northeastern Miyama City, Fukuoka Prefecture. The temple was founded by Saicho, an early Heian-period (794–1185) Buddhist monk who established the Tendai school, and has remained a place of worship for more than 1,200 years.
Its many highlights include Sentai Butsudo Hall, which houses 1,000 Buddhist statues, as well as a three-story pagoda and temple gate designated as Important Cultural Properties by the prefecture. The Honbo Garden, said to have been designed by the monk and painter Sesshu, is particularly noteworthy. Visitors can appreciate traditional Japanese scenery that changes with the seasons in quiet surroundings.
The temple is especially picturesque during the foliage season, when Japanese maples turn crimson. Once the yellow leaves fall, they cover the ground like a golden carpet, creating another memorable autumn scene.

This is one of Fukuoka Prefecture's most popular places to see golden ginkgo leaves. More than 100 ginkgo trees stand across an expansive former vineyard, turning a vivid yellow and attracting many visitors during the foliage season.
As the season progresses, fallen leaves spread across the ground like a golden carpet, complementing the rows of trees above. The sea of gold filling the entire field of view is an impressive sight.
However, this privately owned ginkgo grove is only open to the public for approximately one week.

This approximately 6-kilometer gorge lies along the upper reaches of the Yabe River in Yame City, Fukuoka Prefecture. Its scenery resembles a traditional landscape painting and is said to have been so captivating that even the gods of Hyuga came to admire it. Various enormous and unusually shaped rock formations can be found throughout the gorge, including the 10-meter-high Shomen-iwa cliff, Kehogi-iwa Rock, and rocks named after the Seven Gods of Good Fortune.
A large heart-shaped rock is popular as a spiritual spot associated with success in love. The scenery created by the mysterious rock formations and colorful foliage continues over a considerable distance, showcasing the scale and beauty of the natural landscape. There are also many other foliage spots around Hyugami Gorge.