When to go · Kyoto

Kyoto Autumn Leaves 2026 Forecast: Dec 11 vs Tofukuji's Dec 6 End

By Ren Aoki, Japan-based writer

Prices checked September 30, 2026 against the official pages. Every figure links to its source.

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Published: September 30, 2026

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Data checked on September 30, 2026.

At Tofukuji, the covered bridge Tsutenkyo spans a valley of maples, and you look down on the leaves from the bridge. In autumn it opens at 8:30. At Kiyomizu-dera, the autumn night viewing runs until 21:30, with the last entry at 21:00.

The short answer

• The 2026 Kyoto autumn leaves forecast says December 11, but the big temple seasons end before it. Japan Meteorological Corporation's first forecast (published September 2, 2026) puts the best time for maples in Kyoto on December 11, six days later than the usual December 5. Tofukuji's autumn opening runs November 14 to December 6. Nijo Castle's night opening ends December 5, and Kiyomizu-dera's ends November 30.
• If you plan to see temples by bus, the 1,100-yen day pass pays off at 5 rides. Five rides at 230 yen is 1,150 yen. Four rides is 920 yen.
• One night viewing on the city's list is a full advance booking: Kenninji on November 8 (5,000 yen). Nijo Castle sells early-bird and regular tickets, and Arashiyama Tsukitoro sells a guaranteed-entry ticket online.

The second forecast is due in early October, and this page will be updated after it (as of September 30, 2026). Arashiyama Tsukitoro, an evening light event, runs September 30 to November 8. Jump to what to book →

Kyoto autumn leaves 2026 forecast: what Dec 11 means for temple dates

Here is the forecast next to the calendar, as of September 30, 2026.

Source: Japan Meteorological Corporation, 2026 autumn leaves forecast, first release (September 2, 2026, Japanese): n-kishou.com.

Set those dates beside the temples. Tofukuji closes its autumn season on December 6, five days before the forecast date. Eikando's night opening ends December 6, and Nijo Castle's ends December 5. Kiyomizu-dera's night viewing ends November 30.

The forecast follows the color change of sample trees. Kyoto's tourist board, Kyoto Kanko Navi, lists a usual best time of mid to late November for Eikando, well before December 5. The sample trees say December 11 and the temples' own calendars say November.

So if you fly in on December 8 for the maples, the calendar has already closed Tofukuji's bridge, Eikando's night opening and Nijo Castle's night opening. Toji and Ninna-ji are still lit, until December 13.

Kyoto's forecast maple date is December 11, and Tofukuji's autumn opening ends on December 6.

What to look for in Kyoto's autumn leaves

Tofukuji: the bridge, the valley and the garden

Start at Tofukuji, on the morning side of your day. From November 14 to December 6, Tsutenkyo and the founder's hall, Kaisando, are 1,000 yen for adults, and the bridge opens at 8:30, half an hour before the main hall garden (9:00). Tsutenkyo connects the abbot's hall and Kaisando. The temple describes the view from it, the valley called Sengyokukan, as splendid in maples and in fresh green. The temple also says the golden-turning three-lobed maple is said to be a Chinese maple that the priest Shoichi Kokushi brought from Song China.

The main hall garden (Hojo) is a separate ticket, 600 yen for adults from November 1, 2026. It is a work of the garden designer Shigemori Mirei, from 1939 (Showa 14), named "Hasso no Niwa" (Garden of Eight Aspects), with a garden on each of the four sides of the hall. The temple calls it a masterpiece of the modern garden. So a full visit in the season is two tickets: 1,000 yen for the bridge and 600 yen for the garden. For children, the bridge is 500 yen and the garden 300 yen.

Two rules from the temple are worth having in your pocket. Re-entry is not possible once you leave. And the temple says it expects heavy crowds during the autumn season and may ask you to refrain from taking photos on Tsutenkyo and on the smaller bridge Gaunkyo. In the autumn opening, the temple does not write goshuin (temple stamps) by hand. Look first, take your photos where staff allow, and keep the 8:30 opening in mind.

After dark: three lit halls in November

Kiyomizu-dera holds its autumn night viewing from November 21 to 30, 2026. The temple extends the hours to 21:30, with the last entry at 21:00, and its page says no reservation is needed. The Kyoto City list gives 500 yen for adults and 200 yen for elementary and junior high school students.

Eikando's night opening runs November 20 to December 6. The last entry is 20:30 and the lights go off and the gate closes at 21:00. It is 1,000 yen for junior high school students and older.

Toji lights up its grounds from October 31 to December 13, 18:00 to 21:30 with the last entry at 21:00. The night opening covers the Kondo (golden hall), the Kodo (lecture hall) and the three-dimensional mandala. It is 1,000 yen for adults and 500 yen for junior high school students and younger.

Before the peak: evenings from late September

You do not have to wait for the leaves to turn to see a lit garden. Arashiyama Tsukitoro, "Arashiyama Bamboo Light-up," runs from September 30 to November 8 on the bamboo path in Sagano, 18:00 to 21:00 (last entry 20:30). It is closed for bad weather. At the gate, the ticket is 1,500 yen (free for age 12 and under). Door sales start at 17:50 each day, cash only. Buying online for 2,000 yen guarantees your entry.

Nijo Castle's "NAKED meets Nijo-jo 2026" starts October 23 and runs to December 5, 18:00 to 22:00 (last entry 21:00). Ninna-ji's "Cloud Sea Light-up" night opening starts October 24, on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, 18:30 to 21:00, at 2,800 yen (free for high school students and younger). Toji begins October 31. Kodaiji runs October 23 to December 13, from 17:00 when the lights come on until the last entry at 21:30, for 800 yen (400 yen for junior and senior high school students). Kodaiji and Entokuin also sell a shared ticket for 1,200 yen.

Ninna-ji is closed on November 8 and 28. Entokuin (500 yen, 17:00 to 21:30, October 23 to December 13) is closed on December 11 and 12.

More evenings once November begins

Kitano Tenmangu opens the maple garden along the old earthwork wall, Odoi, from November 7 to December 6, 9:00 to 20:00 (last entry 19:40), with the lights coming on at sunset. Adults pay 1,500 yen, and tea and a sweet come with the ticket. Shorenin holds an autumn night opening from November 7 to December 6, 18:00 to 22:00 (last entry 21:30). It is 1,000 yen for adults and 500 yen for elementary to high school students. The city list marks it as a day and night changeover, so the day and night visits are separate.

Kifune Shrine lights its maples from November 7 to 24, from sunset to 20:30, and entry is free. Entokuin's night opening does not swap between day and night, so one ticket is one visit.

One more thing for your pocket

A Kyoto subway and bus 1-day pass is 1,100 yen for adults. It also covers some routes of Kyoto Bus, Keihan Bus and West JR Bus, so if the city bus is packed, you have other buses to try.

Night viewings at a glance

Fees and dates are from the Kyoto City list of night special openings and lighting events (updated September 29, 2026). Adult fees.

Kyoto autumn leaves 2026 reservation required: fees, hours and booking rules

Kenninji's November 8 evening viewing is a full advance booking, at 5,000 yen, through a booking form (the city list says phone bookings are not taken). Nijo Castle sells early-bird and regular tickets, and Arashiyama Tsukitoro has an online ticket that guarantees your entry.

Outside the autumn season, Tofukuji charges 600 yen for Tsutenkyo and 500 yen for the main hall garden. Kyoto Kanko Navi's autumn leaves page also lists Enkoji and Murin-an as booking-based. For 2026, look at each temple's own page for those two.

Sources: Tofukuji, visitor guide (Japanese), Kiyomizu-dera, night viewing (Japanese), Kyoto City, night special openings and lighting list (Japanese), Kyoto Kanko Navi, autumn leaves (Japanese). Checked September 30, 2026.

Kyoto autumn leaves calendar 2026: crowds and night lighting by month

In 2025, room occupancy in Kyoto Prefecture was 76.8% in October, 74.3% in November and 67.0% in December (Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Overnight Travel Statistics Survey, processed by Japan Trip Math). October, before the leaves peak, is fuller than November.

In November 2025, Kyoto Prefecture counted 2,940,760 guest-nights, and 1,592,310 of them, about 54%, were foreign guests (same survey).

The three-day weekend that includes Labor Thanksgiving Day, November 21 to 23, falls when Kiyomizu-dera's night viewing, Eikando's night opening and Tofukuji's season are all open.

To see the wider year, read When to Visit Japan by Month: Crowds and Hotel Occupancy.

For a place to stay, see Stay in Kyoto or Osaka.

How locals plan it: crowds, mornings and the comfort map

Kyoto's city has an official crowd tool, in Japanese, called the Kyoto Comfort Map (Kyoto Kankō Kaiteki-do Map). It rates crowding on 5 levels, by time of day, for 7 areas including Arashiyama, Gion-Kiyomizu, Kyoto Station and Fushimi. You choose a date and the weather (sunny, rain or heavy rain), and the map shows a forecast. It also links live cameras, and it is free. Kyoto City Tourism Association says it has used foreign visitors' location data in its predictions since October 2023, and the live cameras at 10 places in the city carry captions in Japanese, English and Chinese.

Try it on the day you are planning: type in the Saturday you picked, choose "sunny," and slide through the hours. Then set your alarm for the hour that comes out calm, and put Tofukuji's 8:30 opening at the start of that day.

Japanese travel sites and Q&A pages commonly advise the same things: go early, aim for the 8:00 hour, stay away from the middle of the day (10:00 to 15:00), and choose a weekday or the evening. The one fixed time you can plan around is Tofukuji's: the autumn season opens at 8:30.

A report in Kyoto Shimbun says a city bus price for residents (200 yen) and non-residents (350 to 400 yen) is planned, with a target of fiscal 2027. The city bus fare in autumn 2026 stays at 230 yen.

Sources: Kyoto Comfort Map (Japanese), Kyoto City Tourism Association, crowd measures (Japanese), Kyoto Shimbun (Japanese).

Bus pass calculator: when the 1,100-yen day pass pays off

Enter how many times you will ride a Kyoto city bus in one day, on the 230-yen flat-fare section. The tool compares paying each time with the 1,100-yen subway and bus day pass.

Adult fares as of September 30, 2026: city bus flat fare 230 yen (Kyoto City, bus fares), subway and bus 1-day pass 1,100 yen (Kyoto City, 1-day pass). The pass covers the whole subway, the whole city bus network, and some routes of Kyoto Bus, Keihan Bus and West JR Bus. The tool counts only city bus rides on the flat-fare section. The bus-only 1-day pass ended at the end of March 2024.

Three ways your dates could play out

The forecast day, Friday, December 11

The forecast date is a Friday. Toji is lit that evening (until December 13), and so is Ninna-ji, which opens on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Entokuin is closed on December 11 and 12. The Tofukuji bridge, Eikando and Nijo Castle finished days earlier.

The three-day weekend, November 21 to 23

Kiyomizu-dera's night viewing, Eikando's night opening and Tofukuji's autumn season are all open. Places that are best at the same time may also be the busiest at the same time, so this is the weekend to open the Comfort Map and pick your hours. If you would rather not count on buses that weekend, a guided day tour of the leaves is one way to get around (browse tours).

Sunday, November 8

Arashiyama Tsukitoro has its last evening, Kenninji holds its full-booking viewing, and Ninna-ji is closed. Tofukuji's autumn season is six days away. If November 8 is your only evening, you are choosing between Tsukitoro and Kenninji.

What to book instead

If the buses worry you, a guided tour takes the routing off your hands. Tours of Kyoto's autumn leaves, from half a day to a full day, are listed on KKday. Tour contents and prices are on the listing pages, not here.

Browse toursAffiliate link

Nara is another day out from Kyoto. See Nara Day Trip From Kyoto or Osaka. To get from the airport, see Kansai Airport to Kyoto.

Pick the dates and you pick the picture: Tofukuji's bridge at 8:30 in mid-November, Kiyomizu-dera lit until 21:30 in late November, or Nijo Castle after dark in late October.

Common questions

Does the Kyoto city bus fare change for visitors in autumn 2026?

No. The fare on the flat-fare section is 230 yen for adults. A separate price for residents and non-residents is a plan reported by the Kyoto Shimbun, aimed at fiscal 2027.

Is there an official way to see how crowded Kyoto will be on a certain day?

Yes. The Kyoto Comfort Map rates 7 areas on 5 levels by time of day, for the date and weather you choose. It is free.

Which time of day is quieter?

Use the Comfort Map to compare hours. Tofukuji's autumn season opens at 8:30, and Japanese pages often advise avoiding 10:00 to 15:00.

Do I need a reservation for the night lighting?

Kenninji on November 8 needs a full advance booking (5,000 yen). Kiyomizu-dera says no reservation is needed. For the others, the table above shows how each sells tickets.

Related guides

• Kansai Area Pass vs Kansai Railway Pass vs ICOCA
• Stay in Kyoto or Osaka
• When to Visit Japan by Month: Crowds and Hotel Occupancy

Sources and data date

All data was checked on September 30, 2026. Dates, fees and forecasts can change.

• Japan Meteorological Corporation: 2026 autumn leaves forecast (Japanese)
• Kyoto Kanko Navi: Autumn leaves (Japanese); Night special openings and lighting list (Japanese); Kyoto Comfort Map (Japanese)
• Kiyomizu-dera: Night viewing (Japanese)
• Tofukuji: Visitor guide (Japanese)
• Kyoto City Tourism Association: Crowd measures (Japanese)
• Kyoto City Transportation Bureau: Subway and bus 1-day pass (Japanese); City bus fares (Japanese)
• Kyoto Shimbun: City bus pricing report (Japanese)
• Japan Tourism Agency: Overnight Travel Statistics Survey, 2025, Kyoto Prefecture (processed by Japan Trip Math; Public Data License 1.0)