Tokyo Autumn Illumination 2026: Koishikawa Korakuen from Nov 13, Rikugien from Nov 25

If you want to see Tokyo's autumn leaves lit up after dark, the first surprise is how few places actually do it. Most of the city's famous gardens show their maple and ginkgo colors during the day only, and close before sunset.

So this guide skips the daytime spots and sticks to the four places that put on an evening opening year after year: when they run, what they cost, and whether you need to book ahead.

For daytime viewing spots and peak-color timing across the city, see our separate guide, Tokyo Autumn Leaves 2026. Think of this article as the "after dark" companion to it.

All four venues in this guide have confirmed 2026 dates: Koishikawa Korakuen (November 13–24), Rikugien (November 25–December 6), Showa Kinen Park (October 29–November 29), and Takahata Fudoson (lit on November 22 and 23). Korakuen and Rikugien do not overlap, so you can see both.

Four places, all with 2026 dates

Tokyo has plenty of famous autumn-leaf spots, but the list shortens fast once you ask which of them stay open, and lit, after dark. These four have a track record and are the best documented of the city's evening openings.

Koishikawa Korakuen: the earlier of the two

Koishikawa Korakuen in Bunkyo runs its evening opening from November 13 to 24 in 2026. Hours are 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., with last entry at 8:00 p.m. The garden closes at 5:00 p.m. after the daytime session and reopens at 6:00.

The event has a name worth knowing if you are searching in Japanese: Shinzan Koyo o Tanoshimu. It writes koyo as 光葉, with the character for "light," rather than the usual 紅葉 for crimson leaves.

Entry and exit use different gates: you go in through the West Gate and leave through the East Gate. Worth knowing if you are meeting someone or leaving bags.

The lighting picks out the Hitotsu-matsu pine, Horai-jima island, the Karamon gate and the yukitsuri rope cones, and there is projection mapping at two spots, the Tsukiji-bei wall and the Engetsu-kyo bridge. One thing to know before you go: the Tsutenkyo bridge and the Oi-gawa stream, two of the garden's best-known autumn views, are closed for construction and cannot be seen in 2026. The Tsukiji-bei projection mapping includes footage of their autumn colors.

Kitchen cars, a lantern stall and a limited wagashi set called Tsukiyo no Nishiki at the Biidoro Chaya round out the evening. The lantern stall and the Biidoro Chaya take cash only, and the Biidoro Chaya's last order is 8:00 p.m.; the kitchen cars vary.

Tickets are ¥1,000 in advance and ¥1,200 same day. With a disability certificate, the holder and one carer pay ¥500 when buying at the West Gate window on the day or through Mirairo Ticket. Elementary-school children and younger get in free. Advance tickets have been on sale since October 1 and stay available until 11:59 p.m. on November 12, through Seven Ticket, KKday and Asoview. If you miss the advance window, same-day tickets are sold online from midnight on November 13 until 7:30 p.m. on November 24. They are also sold at the West Gate window, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. each night, cash only and in limited numbers.

Rikugien: the later one, and the better known

Rikugien in Bunkyo runs from November 25 to December 6 in 2026, 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., with last entry at 7:30 p.m. Maples ring the central pond and reflect off the water.

As at Korakuen, the garden closes at 5:00 p.m. and reopens at 6:00. After 6:00 p.m. only evening-viewing ticket holders get in; regular daytime admission does not cover it.

Tickets are ¥1,000 in advance and ¥1,200 same day. The ¥500 rate for holders of a Japanese-issued disability certificate (plus one carer) applies to same-day tickets only, not advance ones. Elementary-school children and younger get in free with a ticketed parent or guardian. Both advance and same-day tickets are limited, so same-day tickets can sell out.

Advance tickets went on sale November 1 at 9:00 a.m. on Asoview. You buy for a specific date, up to 11:59 p.m. the night before, and advance holders use a priority lane at the gate.

Same-day tickets are sold online from 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on the day, and at the main-gate window from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., cash only.

For 2026 there is projection mapping on the storehouse wall and, new this year, in the bamboo grove. Full details are in our Rikugien autumn illumination guide.

The nearest station is Komagome on the JR Yamanote and Tokyo Metro Namboku lines, about 7 minutes on foot; Sengoku on the Toei Mita line is about 10 minutes.

Showa Kinen Park: October 29 – November 29

Showa Kinen Park in Tachikawa lets you walk among lit ginkgo avenues and a lit Japanese garden. In 2026 its Autumn Night Walk (秋の夜散歩) runs October 29 (Thu) to November 29 (Sun), lit 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (tickets sold until 8:15 p.m., last entry 8:30 p.m., closing 9:00 p.m.). Pricing comes in two layers: ¥450 adult park admission plus a separate night ticket for the Japanese garden, ¥1,200 online or ¥1,300 at the window (cash only). If the online allocation sells out, there are no window sales.

The lighting goes ahead in rain, and rain alone does not get you a refund. If storms or other emergencies force the park to close, tickets are refunded.

Park admission alone covers the ginkgo avenue and the canal. After 4:30 p.m. the Japanese garden needs a separate light-up ticket. Advance tickets go on sale a week before each date, and after dark you can only enter and leave by the Nishi-Tachikawa and Tachikawa gates.

Takahata Fudoson: lit on only a few nights

Takahata Fudoson in Hino is known for the maples along its approach and its lit five-storey pagoda. The catch is that the lights only come on for a handful of nights inside the maple festival, not every evening. For 2026, the temple's November calendar lists the festival from November 18 to 30 and the two lighting events on November 22 and 23. The 2025 dates were the same.

Those two nights carry two separate events that happen to fall on the same dates. The pagoda lighting belongs to Mandoe, a Buddhist memorial service run by the temple. The lantern path along the approach, Takahata Momiji Toro, is a neighborhood event centered on the shopping streets, under different organizers.

Mandoe has not always run two nights; in some past years it was held on November 23 only. For 2026 the temple lists both November 22 and 23. The Hino tourism association gives the lantern path's hours as 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. on both nights, cancelled in stormy weather. The temple has not posted 2026 times for Mandoe, so check its site before you go.

Smaller options beyond the four

The four above are the large, well-documented ones. They are not the only places in Tokyo where leaves are lit after dark, though — wards and suburban cities run smaller evenings of their own.

• Kyu-Shibusawa Garden, Asukayama Park (Kita ward): November 29 to December 7 in 2025, sunset to 9:00 p.m., last entry 8:30, free
• Momijidani, Shiba Park (metropolitan, Minato ward): billed as Momijidani no Taki Akari, December 6 to 25 in 2025, 4:30 to 9:00 p.m., free
• Mejiro Garden (Toshima ward): TERASU2026 runs November 21 to December 6, 5:30 to 9:00 p.m., last entry 8:30, ¥500 for adults. Early-evening slots on November weekends and the holiday, and on December 5–6, need a reservation

Asukayama and Shiba Park had not announced 2026 dates as of November 7. Both cost nothing, which makes them easy to slot in on a night when the ticketed gardens do not fit.

Shinjuku Gyoen is worth a mention too: it lit its autumn leaves in 2019 and again in 2023. For 2026, the Ministry of the Environment's November event calendar for the garden does not list a light-up. The December calendar had not been posted as of November 7.

Before you head out at night

It gets cold. Tokyo evenings from mid-November into December are much colder than the daytime, so bring an extra layer. What to wear in Japan in autumn goes into more detail.

Rikugien says it refunds tickets in full if storms cancel the event, and that its projection mapping is called off in stormy weather. Koishikawa Korakuen's 2026 notice says nothing about bad weather, so check its official page on the day if rain is forecast.

Korakuen also asks evening visitors not to use tripods, monopods or selfie sticks.

One extra: the nine metropolitan gardens run an autumn stamp rally from October 10 to December 6. It costs nothing beyond each garden's admission, and both Koishikawa Korakuen and Rikugien are on the list.