Our favourite month, and the reason this site exists. The maples peak across most of the country; only Kyoto keeps you waiting.
Weather
Cool and stable: Tokyo 9-17°C. The clearest skies of the year for Fuji views.
What's on
Temple light-ups run all month in Kyoto. Shichi-Go-San mid-month fills shrines with kimono-clad three-, five- and seven-year-olds.
Where to go
Tokyo's ginkgo avenues around the 29th, Osaka in the first days of December, and Kyoto late: it peaks around December 11, not November. Full dates on the autumn page.
On the table
Shinsoba, the year's new buckwheat. Persimmons on every corner.
