Red leaves, hunted: how Japan reads its autumn

By Isla Quinn

Autumn arrives from the top. Not from the sky, from the map. First the high ground of Hokkaidō, then the mountains, then, weeks later, the city parks of the south.

Which way it moves

Nippon.com, a Japanese news and culture site, reports the 2026 forecast from the Japan Meteorological Corporation, issued on 2 September. Foliage moves from north to south and from high ground to the cities below, it says, starting in Hokkaidō. That is the reverse of the cherry blossom front, which moves north in spring. On Mount Asahidake in Hokkaidō, above 1,500 metres, colour peaks around 21 September to 5 October. At the top of Mount Takao in Tokyo, 599 metres, it peaks around 6 to 20 November.

The 2026 dates

The same forecast expects red and yellow leaves to peak somewhat later than in a typical year because of high temperatures across the country. Its table gives yellow, ginkgo-type colour and red separately. Red is forecast for Sapporo on 7 November, Aomori on 13 November, Nagano on 21 November, Tokyo on 29 November, Kyoto on 11 December and Kagoshima on 10 December. Yellow is forecast for Sapporo on 6 November, Tokyo on 26 November and Kyoto on 27 November. The article says red foliage is expected to be late in Sapporo by 10 days, in Nagano by 9 days and in Kōchi by 7 days. It adds that the corporation issues forecasts for about 700 locations and 3,000 mountains, on pages that are in Japanese only.

Why the dates slip

The article names lingering summer heat as the main delay, with elevation and latitude setting the spread. Wikipedia’s article on autumn leaf colour fits the pattern: shorter days and cooling temperatures start the change, and bright, cool days with chilly but non-freezing nights produce the most brilliant colours. It explains that yellow and orange pigments are present all year but hidden by green chlorophyll, and that reds come from anthocyanins, which are actively made in late summer. It says about 10 per cent of tree species in temperate regions make them. That article does not mention Japan, so we use it only for the general science. Our reading: a forecast issued in early September is a best estimate, and the leaves keep their own timetable.

Two words for one thing

Tokyo Weekender, an English-language magazine, writes both kōyō and momiji as 紅葉 and says they are used interchangeably with momiji-gari. A travel company’s culture guide gives them different jobs. Kōyō, it says, refers to leaves turning red, orange and gold, and in everyday talk it also means the season itself. Momiji refers specifically to maple leaves. Momijigari is the practice of going out to admire them, which the guide translates roughly as maple-leaf hunting.

Hunting for leaves

JAANUS, an academic dictionary of Japanese art terms, defines momijigari as hunting for maple leaves, the traditional pastime of viewing autumn foliage in the mountains. It says the term dates back at least to the tenth century, when Heian aristocrats went boating, composed poetry and collected coloured leaves. The magazine places the term in the Heian period, 794 to 1185, and says that for most of the eighth century the practice was called yellow leaf viewing. It says the Man’yōshū, Japan’s oldest waka collection, includes over 100 poems about autumn leaves. The travel company’s guide says the word for hunting, gari, once meant hunting animals and later came to mean seeking out seasonal sights.

From courts to townspeople

The magazine says the habit spread in the Edo period, 1603 to 1867, as shrine pilgrimages and leisure travel became popular among townspeople as well as aristocrats. It cites a Kyoto guidebook published in 1780. It also repeats a legend that the cherry trees at one Kyoto temple were replaced with maples, and says the temple now has about 2,000 trees. We note it as legend, as the magazine does.

Dates in order

Eighth century: “yellow leaf” viewing, according to Tokyo Weekender.
Nara period, 710 to 794: nobles visit mountains and write poems, according to Tokyo Weekender.
Tenth century: earliest attested use of momijigari, according to JAANUS.
Heian period, 794 to 1185: outings with poetry and banquets, according to Tokyo Weekender and the travel company.
1603 to 1867: Edo period; the habit reaches townspeople, according to Tokyo Weekender.
1780: a Kyoto guidebook is published, according to Tokyo Weekender.
2 September 2026: the forecast quoted above is issued, according to Nippon.com.

Side by side

JAANUS gives the tenth century as the earliest attested use; the magazine says the Heian period, which begins in 794, and also describes eighth-century viewing under another name. The travel company says the season generally runs from late September to early December nationally, and that Kyoto often peaks from mid-November to early December. Nippon.com’s 2026 forecast puts Kyoto’s red at 11 December, a little past that range. We do not reconcile them. A forecast is for one year, and a guide describes many.

What kind of sources these are

A news and culture site quoting a private weather company; a general encyclopaedia; an academic dictionary; an English-language magazine; and a travel company’s guide, which we treat as promotional. We read no forecast page from the weather company itself, since its pages are in Japanese only, and we cite no viewing spot beyond what the sources name.

Questions a reader would ask

When is the best week to go? The forecast above says it varies by about a month between Sapporo and Kyoto. Which word do I search for? Any of the three. Does it follow the cherry blossom pattern? Reversed, according to Nippon.com.

What we left out

Prices, opening hours, and ticketed night viewing. The Wikipedia figures for North America and Europe, which have no bearing on Japan.

Quick answers

Which way does autumn colour move across Japan? According to Nippon.com, it moves from north to south and from high ground to lower cities, starting in Hokkaidō. That is the reverse of the cherry blossom front.

What does momijigari mean? JAANUS defines it as hunting for maple leaves, the traditional pastime of viewing autumn foliage in the mountains. It says the term dates back at least to the tenth century.

What is the difference between kōyō and momiji? A travel company’s guide says kōyō is leaves turning red, orange and gold, and momiji refers specifically to maple leaves.

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