Fall foliage expected later than usual this year, weather forecaster says

Fall foliage has begun to arrive in Japan, with much of the country expected to enter the season a few days later than usual, according to a report by the Japan Meteorological Corp. (JMC), a private weather forecaster. The JMC projected autumn foliage dates for around 3,000 mountains and 700 foliage viewing spots across the country. The dates predict the first day that a majority of a tree’s leaves will have turned red, in the case of Japanese maple trees, or yellow, for gingko trees.

Above-average temperatures across the country are behind the slightly later season, as the bright yellows and crimsons of autumn are brought on by colder weather. Temperatures were higher than usual in Japan in October, and the weather will continue to be warmer through the last two months of the year, leading to the bright colors coming generally a few days later than normal. Large swaths of Hokkaido, including Sapporo, have already entered the foliage season for both gingko and maple trees.

For most of the Tohoku region, gingko leaves will turn yellow around mid-November, while the red maple leaves will come later this month, the report predicted. The Kanto-Koshin region will also have to wait for the autumn foliage. In particular, the JMC said that Tokyo’s gingko leaves will change color on Nov. 29 and the maples will follow the next day, both several days behind schedule.

Farther south, ginkgo leaves will likely turn yellow within the month, while maple leaves will change in December in most areas, including Kyoto, Nagoya and Osaka. Last year’s foliage season mostly came earlier than in 2024, when records for the latest date were set in areas across the country. So far, the Japan Meteorological Agency has recorded later dates than usual for maple leaves changing color in the few areas of Hokkaido that it has observed as already having entered the season.

Gingko leaves have changed around the normal seasonal date in areas that have similarly been observed, except for Kanazawa, which entered its season two weeks early.