Mifuneyama Rakuen Garden Autumn Leaves 2026 Confirmed

御船山楽園の紅葉 — Takeo, Saga (Kyushu)

Mifuneyama Rakuen in Takeo stages what is billed as Japan's largest autumn illumination: some 500 maples, including a grand tree about 170 years old, lit nightly beneath the cliff face of Mount Mifune during the Momiji Matsuri (in 2025, November 6 to December 7, night session 5:30-10:00pm). Leaves peak from mid-November to early December. The garden runs a day/night split system — 600 yen for either session, or a 900 yen combo — and its teamLab exhibitions have made it genuinely famous abroad.

Background

Shigeyoshi Nabeshima, lord of the Takeo domain, spent three years creating this strolling garden at the foot of Mount Mifune, completing it in 1845. The 500,000-square-meter grounds later gained international recognition as the setting for teamLab's long-running "A Forest Where Gods Live" digital art exhibition.

Getting there

Take the Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen or JR limited express to Takeo-Onsen Station — about 70-80 minutes from Hakata with the Relay Kamome transfer at Takeo, or 25 minutes from Nagasaki. From the station, the garden is a 5-minute taxi ride or about 8 minutes on the local Yutoku bus line.

Tips

• Buy the 900 yen day-night combo: exit at the changeover, eat in town, and return for the illumination — seeing both versions is the point of this garden.
• The reflection of lit maples in the pond by the boathouse is the signature night shot; claim a spot near the water's edge before full dark.
• Takeo Onsen's 1,300-year-old baths and its famous lacquered gate are 10 minutes away — soak between the day and night sessions.
• Weeknights are dramatically quieter than weekends; the final week of November usually combines peak color with lighter crowds than the opening days.