Kyoto’s Autumn Foliage Calendar: Changing Colors Week by Week

I once met someone at Kyoto Station who looked utterly miserable, standing there with a suitcase and staring at the train departure board. They had flown over from Saigon on November 5 because they had “heard that Kyoto’s autumn leaves are beautiful in November.” That morning, they had just come back from Eikando—and most of the leaves were still green. They asked me, “Does Kyoto not have red leaves this year?” It did. They had simply arrived about two weeks too early for Eikando. Meanwhile, less than an hour from the city center by bus, the mountains of Takao were glowing red, and they had no idea.

That is Kyoto’s biggest autumn trap: people imagine that the fall colors are a citywide “event” that erupts everywhere at once, like fireworks. In reality, they are more like a slow-moving red river flowing down from the mountains into the central basin, lasting around five weeks—from early November through the first week of December. Arrive at the wrong place during the right week, or the right place during the wrong week, and you can be equally disappointed.

In this article, I’ll map out that flow week by week—where the colors appear first and where they arrive later—then show you how to read koyo forecasts like someone who has lived in Japan for years. Finally, we’ll tackle the most practical question for Vietnamese travelers: which week should you book your flight to maximize your chances of catching peak foliage?

Why Kyoto’s Autumn Leaves Don’t Change Color All at Once

Kyoto lies in a basin surrounded by mountains on three sides. Momiji—the Japanese maple—changes color when nighttime temperatures drop, usually after several consecutive days with nights below roughly 8–10 degrees. And the cold arrives at higher elevations first: the mountains north and northwest of Kyoto sit several hundred meters higher than the city center, so their nights turn cold up to a week earlier, and their leaves “ripen” accordingly.

As a result, Kyoto’s autumn foliage season has three fairly distinct zones:

• Mountain zone (Takao, Kurama, Ohara): the earliest colors, usually from early to mid-November.
• Central zone (Tofukuji, Eikando, Nanzenji, Arashiyama, Kiyomizu-dera): peak color from mid- to late November—this is the “high season” when visitors from around the world descend on Kyoto.
• Late-season zone (Shimogamo, Toji, Jonangu): colors linger through late November and often into the first, or even middle, week of December.

Once you understand these three zones, you’ll see that there is almost NO week between 1/11–10/12 when Kyoto has “nothing to see.” The only question is whether you know where to go that week.

One important note: in recent years, as autumns have grown warmer, Kyoto’s peak foliage has tended to arrive later. Some years, the central areas do not truly become spectacular until the end of November, and early December can still be beautiful. So treat all the dates in this article as a “multi-year reference window.” Your final decision should always be based on that year’s forecast—the section on reading forecasts below goes into more detail.

The Week-by-Week Autumn Foliage Timeline

Weeks 1–2 of November: Head for the Mountains—Takao, Kurama, and Ohara

If you arrive in Kyoto in early November, don’t wander around the city center and wonder why everything still looks green. Head into the mountains.

Takao is Kyoto’s earliest area for autumn colors, located in the northwest and about 50 minutes by JR bus from Kyoto Station. The main temple here is Jingo-ji, which requires climbing a long flight of stone steps to reach. It is genuinely tiring, but the reward is a view of momiji carpeting the Kiyotaki River valley—a place tour groups almost never reach. At Jingo-ji, you can also throw small earthenware discs (kawarake) into the valley to cast away bad luck. Watching the pieces sail through a sea of red leaves is immensely satisfying. Takao usually starts changing color in late October and looks best from the first week to the middle of November.

Kurama and Kibune lie to the north and are about 30 minutes by Eizan Railway from Demachiyanagi Station. The train ride through the “momiji tunnel” between Ichihara and Ninose is one of Kyoto’s best-value autumn experiences. During peak season, trains even slow down so passengers can enjoy the view, and some evenings feature illuminations. You can hike from Kurama-dera over Mount Kurama to Kibune, a forest trail that takes several hours, then have lunch beside the river in Kibune. The best window is usually from the first week to mid-November.

Ohara, home to Sanzen-in, sits in a northeastern valley about an hour by bus from Kyoto Station. Sanzen-in’s lush green moss gardens make a beautiful backdrop for the red leaves, creating a scene with a distinctly Zen-like contrast. Ohara usually reaches its best around mid-November, a little later than Takao.

The biggest advantage of this period: fewer visitors, Kyoto hotels are not yet fully booked, and prices have not reached their annual peak.

Week 3 of November: The Transition—The City Center Begins to Turn

Around November 15–22 is Kyoto’s “changeover” week. The mountain areas are beginning to pass their peak and shed leaves, while the central areas are shifting from “just starting to change” to “nearly at their peak.” This is actually a very pleasant time to visit: there is color everywhere, even if nowhere is at its absolute most vibrant.

Arashiyama usually begins changing a little earlier than the central temples because it sits close to the mountains. From Togetsukyo Bridge, the hillsides spread out in patches of yellow, orange, and red like an oil painting. Many people actually prefer this mottled stage to a landscape of uniformly red leaves. In Arashiyama, Jojakko-ji and Nison-in are two excellent foliage spots that are significantly less crowded than the bamboo grove.

Kiyomizu-dera and Kodai-ji in the Higashiyama area also begin showing color during this week, and the nighttime illumination events (light-up) are often already underway. Visiting a light-up when the leaves are just beginning to turn has its own charm: the lights make the foliage look considerably more flattering than it does in daylight.

Week 4 of November: Peak of the Peak—Tofukuji, Eikando, and Nanzenji

Around November 20–30 (in many recent years, the peak has shifted toward the latter part of this window), central Kyoto erupts into color. This is the week when both Japanese and international visitors pour into the city—and for good reason.

Tofukuji is, in my opinion, Kyoto’s number-one autumn foliage view. Standing on Tsutenkyo Bridge and looking down into a valley flooded with momiji feels like floating above a red-orange cloud. That is also why it becomes unbelievably crowded: on peak weekends, the line to enter the bridge can stretch for an hour. The survival tip is to go on a weekday and arrive about 30 minutes before opening (opening hours during peak season may change, so check the official website before visiting). Tofukuji is close to the station, just one stop from Kyoto Station by JR or Keihan train, making it easy to visit early in the morning.

Eikando (Zenrin-ji) is so famous that there is a Japanese saying, “momiji no Eikando”—when people talk about autumn leaves, they talk about Eikando. Around three thousand maple trees surround the Hojo Pond, and the nighttime illumination reflected on the water is one of Kyoto’s most beautiful evening scenes. Admission during the autumn foliage season is considerably more expensive than usual (daytime and nighttime tickets are sold separately), but it is worth every yen. The line for the light-up can be extremely long, so arrive early, before the evening gates open.

Nanzenji, right next to Eikando, offers a classic photo opportunity: the enormous Sanmon Gate framed by red leaves on both sides. The red-brick aqueduct (Suirokaku) is also exceptionally photogenic this time of year. The outer grounds of Nanzenji are free, making it convenient to combine with nearby sights. From Nanzenji, you can walk along the Philosopher’s Path (Tetsugaku no michi) to Ginkaku-ji. In autumn, the route is a mix of gold and red, and taking it slowly can easily fill an entire afternoon.

The trade-off this week is the highest hotel prices of the year and crowds at popular sites from morning to night. The general strategy: visit famous spots before 8 a.m. or after 4 p.m., and spend the middle of the day at lesser-known temples.

Late November–Early December: The Late Peak—Shimogamo and the Last to Turn

Here is a secret many Vietnamese travelers do not know: Kyoto’s autumn foliage season does not end when November does.

Shimogamo Shrine, with its primeval Tadasu no Mori forest, is Kyoto’s latest foliage spot. It usually reaches its peak in the first week of December, and in some years not until the middle of December. The forest lies between two branches of the Kamo River. Its tall trees let the winter sunlight filter through golden and red leaves in the morning, creating a mesmerizing scene—and, importantly, it is quiet. It offers the kind of tranquility you will never find at Tofukuji during peak season.

Toji Temple, home to Japan’s tallest five-story pagoda, also changes color late. Its nighttime illumination, with the pagoda reflected in the pond alongside the red leaves, often continues until around the middle of December. Jonangu in the south and Shimogamo make an excellent combination for a final foliage sweep.

And don’t overlook the beauty of fallen leaves. The moss-covered grounds of Gio-ji and the entrance path to Adashino Nenbutsu-ji in Arashiyama are blanketed in red leaves in early December. For photographers, this “bamboo grove of fallen leaves” can be even more impressive than the foliage still on the trees. Hotel prices have clearly cooled off by this point, and although the weather is colder (early mornings can dip to around 5 degrees), Kyoto’s winter skies are often clear and wonderfully crisp for photography.