Rikugien Gardens Autumn Leaves — photo by Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Rikugien Gardens Autumn Leaves 2026 Confirmed
六義園の紅葉 — Tokyo (Kanto)
🎟️ Night viewing: check booking ↓
In Tokyo in November? See all 22 events in Tokyo that month →
- Typical peak
- Fri, Nov 20 – Thu, Dec 10, 2026
- Time
- 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Venue
- Rikugien Gardens, Bunkyo
- Illumination
- Confirmed for 2026: Nov 25 – Dec 6. “Rikugien evening viewing”, typically late November to early December, 6:00pm–8:30pm. In 2025 it ran Nov 28 – Dec 9.
- Scale
- ~560 maple trees
- Tickets
- ¥300 for adults, ¥150 for over-65s; free for elementary school children and younger, and for junior high students living or studying in Tokyo. Last entry 4:30pm. Opening hours are extended during the autumn evening viewing.
- Official site
- www.tokyo-park.or.jp
Tickets — best booked ahead
Daytime entry is paid at the gate. The night viewing is a separate ticket and has been reservation-only in some years — check the Tokyo parks website before you go.
Rikugien is Tokyo's finest classical strolling garden, and in late autumn its roughly 560 maples turn the pond-centered landscape into a layered composition of red and gold. Peak color runs late November to early December — among the latest in the region. The garden's famous night event, the 'Autumn Night Special Viewing,' illuminates the foliage from around 6:00pm to 8:30pm in that window, reflecting lit maples in the dark pond. Daytime admission is ¥300; the night viewing is ticketed separately and has required advance reservation in some years.
Background
Rikugien was completed in 1702 by Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu, a favored counselor of the fifth Tokugawa shogun, who designed it around scenes from classical Japanese poetry. Later owned by the Iwasaki family, founders of Mitsubishi, it was donated to the city of Tokyo and is designated a special place of scenic beauty.
Getting there
The garden is a seven-minute walk from Komagome Station on the JR Yamanote Line and Tokyo Metro Namboku Line — one of the easiest major foliage spots in Japan to reach. During the night illumination a side gate nearer the station typically opens; expect entry lines on peak evenings.
Tips
- Daytime admission is ¥300; the night viewing is a separate ticket and has been reservation-only in some years — check the Tokyo parks website before you go.
- The Togetsukyo stone bridge and the central pond panorama from Fukiage-chaya teahouse are the two essential compositions.
- For the illumination, line up before the evening session opens — the reflection shots by the pond draw tripod-free queues (tripods are banned).
- Kyu-Furukawa Gardens, a rose-and-maple garden with a Western mansion, is a 15-minute walk away and pairs naturally for a same-day double.
Frequently asked questions
- When is the best time to see Rikugien Gardens Autumn Leaves?
- Autumn color here usually peaks Nov 20 – Dec 10. Color depends on how cold the nights have been, and peak can land a week either side of the usual window, so check a foliage forecast about a week out.
Maintained by Tetsu Yamamoto · Last verified against the official source: Sat, September 26, 2026
More to see while you’re there
- Everything on in Tokyo in November 2026 (22 events)
- Everything on in Tokyo in December 2026 (26 events)
- Autumn Leaves across Japan in November 2026 (58 events)
- Autumn Leaves across Japan in December 2026 (30 events)
- Tokyo all season