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 focuses on one thing: where you can genuinely see Tokyo's autumn foliage lit up at night, what it costs, 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.
Only three Tokyo spots put on an after-dark autumn-leaf display: Rikugien, Showa Kinen Park, and — for just two nights — Takahata Fudoson.
One important note before we start: every date and price below is from 2025, which we're using as a typical-year example. As of this writing (August 2026), none of these venues has announced its autumn 2026 schedule yet. Always check the official site for the current year's dates before you go.
Only three places, really
Tokyo has plenty of famous autumn-leaf spots, but very few of them are open — and lit — at night.
Kyu-Furukawa Gardens, for example, saves its evening lighting for the spring rose season; in autumn it's daytime only. Koishikawa Korakuen does hold an evening opening ("Aki no Yonaga"), but it runs in mid-October — before the leaves reach their peak (typically late November to early December).
Shinjuku Gyoen, too, has had no confirmed after-dark autumn-leaf opening in recent years (2024 or 2025); its last notable night event was in 2023.
That leaves three places actually worth planning an evening around. Here's the overview first.
Venue | 2025 dates | Evening hours | Cost (2025) | Booking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Rikugien | Nov 28 – Dec 9 | 18:00–20:30 | Night ticket from ¥1,000 (advance) | Advance + limited same-day |
Showa Kinen Park | Oct 30 – Nov 30 | 16:30–20:30 | ¥450 entry (+¥1,200 for lit garden) | Garden ticket: online in advance |
Takahata Fudoson | Nov 22 & 23 only | 17:00–20:00 | Free | Not needed |
Rikugien: the classic autumn night-viewing
Rikugien (六義園, in Bunkyo Ward) is Tokyo's best-known autumn night-viewing. The event is called "Niwa-momiji no Rikugien" (庭紅葉の六義園), and after dark, the maples ringing the central pond reflect in the water below.
In 2025 it ran from November 28 to December 9, from 18:00 to 20:30 (last entry 19:30) — roughly the late-November-to-early-December window it hits most years. The 2026 dates haven't been announced, so check the official site.
Here's how entry works. Rikugien closes at 17:00, then reopens at 18:00 for a special evening viewing. After 18:00, only holders of a night-viewing ticket may enter — your regular admission won't get you in.
Tickets are mainly date-specified advance tickets sold online. In 2025 they were ¥1,000 in advance and ¥1,200 same-day, with elementary-school children and younger free. Same-day tickets are also sold at the gate and online, but in limited numbers, and some evenings sell out. In other words, you can't just wander in for free after dark — buy ahead if you can.
The booking site (Asoview) offers the ticket in English, Chinese, Korean and other languages, which makes it easy to sort out before you arrive.
Getting there: a 7-minute walk from Komagome Station (JR Yamanote Line, Tokyo Metro Namboku Line), or 10 minutes from Sengoku Station (Toei Mita Line).
Showa Kinen Park: an evening stroll among ginkgo and maple
Showa Kinen Park (国営昭和記念公園, in Tachikawa) lets you walk among lit ginkgo avenues and a lit Japanese garden after dark.
In 2025 the "Autumn Leaves Festival & Autumn Night Walk" ran from October 30 to November 30, with lighting from 16:30 to 20:30 (last entry 20:30, park closes 21:00). The 2026 dates haven't been announced.
The lights run every night of the period, but the leaves themselves usually peak from mid- to late November. Go in late October or early November and you may find the lights on before the color has really turned.
Watch out for the two-tier pricing. The Katarai Ginkgo Avenue and the Canal are included with regular park admission, but the lit Japanese Garden needs a separate viewing ticket on top of admission. In 2025, admission was ¥450 for adults (free for junior-high age and younger), and the Japanese Garden viewing ticket was ¥1,200 for adults (in advance).
The garden ticket is mainly bought online in advance, and once the planned allocation sells out, there's no gate sale. On the busier weekends, lock it in ahead of time.
If it's the central-Tokyo ginkgo tunnel you're picturing, that's the Meiji Jingu Gaien avenue — covered separately in Jingu Gaien Ginkgo Avenue 2026 (a daytime golden tunnel rather than an after-dark event).
Getting there: a 2-minute walk from Nishi-Tachikawa Station (JR Ome Line) to the Nishi-Tachikawa Gate.
Official site: 東京にありながら、自然を身近に感じることのできる昭和記念公園で、特別な秋を過ごしませんか。
秋の夜散歩2025 | 国営昭和記念公園ライトアップイベント
Takahata Fudoson: pagoda lit for two nights only
Takahata Fudoson Kongoji (高幡不動尊金剛寺, in Hino) is known for the maples along its approach and its five-story pagoda lit up at night. But the lights only come on for a very limited number of nights within the maple festival.
In 2025 the maple festival ("Momiji Matsuri") ran from November 18 to 30. Within that, the two things that light up the evening — the pagoda's "Mantoue" and the "Takahata Momiji Toro," lanterns set out through the temple-town streets — both happened on November 22 and 23 only.
The Toro lanterns are lit from 17:00 to 20:00; the lantern event's official guide puts the count at around 3,000. Put simply, on nights other than the 22nd and 23rd the approach may be dark. A festival period is not the same as nightly illumination, so if you're going for the evening, match your date to it.
Seeing the pagoda and the lantern-lit streets at night is free (and the grounds are open to walk through).
Festival and lantern dates shift a little each year. Confirm the 2026 dates on the temple's official site and the Hino City tourism association's notices.
Getting there: right by Takahata-Fudo Station (Keio Line, Tama Toshi Monorail).
Official site: 関東三大不動、真言宗智山派別格本山「高幡不動尊金剛寺」。新選組土方歳三の菩提寺。
高幡不動尊金剛寺 | 関東三大不動、真言宗智山派別格本山「高幡不動尊金剛寺」。新選組土方歳三の菩提寺。
Before you go at night
A few things to sort out before an evening trip.
Timing of the announcements helps you plan. Tokyo's metropolitan gardens usually announce their autumn events in late August to early September, while Rikugien's night-viewing event and Showa Kinen's night walk tend to be announced closer to the season. Confirm the 2026 dates on each venue's official site.
Where booking is required, move early. Rikugien uses date-specified advance tickets, and Showa Kinen's Japanese Garden runs mainly on advance viewing tickets — popular dates sell out.
Dress warmer than you think. Tokyo's late-November-to-December evenings are noticeably colder than the daytime, so bring an extra layer.
Bad-weather policies differ by venue, so on a rainy forecast, check the official notice before heading out. Rules on tripods and photography vary by venue as well.
This article was translated from the original Japanese with AI assistance and reviewed by our editorial team. The Japanese version is authoritative.
