Okayama Korakuen Garden Autumn Leaves 2026 Confirmed

岡山後楽園の紅葉 — Okayama (Chugoku)

Okayama Korakuen, one of Japan's official Three Great Gardens, saves its autumn drama for the Chishio-no-mori maple grove, which peaks from mid-November to early December. The garden's confirmed 2026 night opening, the Autumn Fantasy Garden, runs November 20-29, 5:00-8:30pm (entry until 8:00pm, night admission 500 yen), with neighboring Okayama Castle lit up at the same time — the black castle keep floats over the garden's borrowed scenery day and night.

Background

Lord Ikeda Tsunamasa ordered the garden built in 1687, and it was completed in 1700 as a place of entertainment for the daimyo household, opening to the public in 1884. It ranks with Kenrokuen and Kairakuen as the Three Great Gardens of Japan.

Getting there

From JR Okayama Station (45 minutes from Shin-Osaka by shinkansen), take the Higashiyama tram line 5 minutes to Shiroshita and walk 10 minutes, or ride the direct Korakuen bus from the station's east exit. Okayama Castle is across a footbridge from the garden's south gate.

Tips

• The Autumn Fantasy Garden's 2026 dates are November 20-29 — just ten nights, so build your San'yo itinerary around them if you want the illumination.
• Night admission is 500 yen; the joint castle illumination (Ujo Togenkyo) means one evening covers two lit landmarks a footbridge apart.
• Head straight to Chishio-no-mori in the garden's northeast — the rest of Korakuen is lawn and pine, and the concentrated maple color is all in that grove.
• Mornings before the tour buses (gates open early) give you the famous lawn-and-castle vista with almost nobody in frame.

Maintained by Tetsu Yamamoto · Last verified against the official source: Sat, September 12, 2026