With the unusually high temperatures this year, Mt. Fuji has broken the record for being the longest without its snowcap. So, it's safe to say that we might also be looking at a delayed autumn.
According to the official autumn leaves forecast released by the Japan Meteorological Corporation, this seems to be the case. In fact, in the latest forecast dated October 30, the dates have been pushed back even further.
Now, the autumn leaves are predicted to arrive a few days to more than two weeks later than usual. However, it’s important to note that this could very well change depending on weather conditions.
Red momiji leaves forecast
The leaves in Hokkaido will be the earliest to turn, with Sapporo projected to see red momiji at their most vibrant around November 8. That’s about 11 days later than usual. The best time to see red leaves in Nagano is around November 28 and Kanazawa around December 4.
You can expect to see momiji turn full red in Tokyo sometime around December 5, Osaka December 8 and Kyoto December 16. Further south in Kyushu, the momiji leaves are predicted to turn red only around December 13 in Fukuoka and December 18 in Kagoshima.
Yellow ginkgo leaves forecast
For yellow ginkgo trees, you might want to be in Sapporo around November 6, Aomori around November 9, Kanazawa around November 15 and Nagano around November 20.
In Tokyo and Osaka, the ginkgo trees are expected to turn sunny yellow around the same time: Osaka around November 28 and Tokyo a day later (November 29). For now, it looks like Fukuoka and Kyoto will be seeing yellow on December 1 and December 2 respectively.
So now’s a good time to start planning your autumn trip to Japan, especially since Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto are now trending as some of the world's most desired autumn destinations. If you need some inspiration, check out our list of Japan’s most beautiful autumn destinations.
This article was first published on September 5 and updated on November 5.
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