the japan edition · field notes

Japan by Season

Japan keeps its calendar closely. Each spring the blossom moves up the country from Kyushu to Hokkaido, each autumn the colour comes down from the northern mountains, and every month between has its own light, weather and table. These pieces follow the year as it turns, with the forecasts and the records behind them. Every one of our published tours is built around a season, and this is the reading for choosing one.

39 articles
A traditional covered wooden boat moored on a narrow canal thick with fallen cherry blossom petals, blossom branches arching overhead in golden evening lightexperiencesA Cherry Blossom Journey Through JapanA spring journey through Japan is felt as much at the table and in the bath as beneath the branches: the rhythm of the days, and the bamboo shoot, sea bream and seasonal seafood that mark the season on the plate.the full articleSteam rising through a mountain valley of brilliant red, orange and gold autumn foliageexperiencesAn Autumn Journey Through JapanAn autumn journey through Japan runs to a rhythm the season sets: cool mornings in the gardens, afternoons on the move through valleys of colour, and evenings that turn indoors to the onsen and the ryokan table.the full articleSteam from a hot spring drifting past a gorge of yellow, orange and red autumn maplesseasonsAutumn in the North: Tōhoku and HokkaidōTōhoku and Hokkaidō have Japan's earliest great autumn, the colour arriving broad and cold across mountains and open land weeks before the old capitals have begun.the full articleA tapering avenue of ginkgo trees in full gold, the Icho Namiki at Meiji Jingu Gaien, TokyoseasonsAutumn Leaves Forecast 2026: Japan's Fall Foliage by RegionWhen Japan's autumn colour reaches its best viewing in 2026, region by region, from the forecasts of Weathernews and the Japan Meteorological Corporation, each cited by its date of release.the full articleA gravel path running between two rows of cherry trees in full bloom beside a still pond, fallen petals pink on the ground and black chain posts along the edgeseasonsThe Best Time to Visit Japan, Season by SeasonTwo windows in the year are the classic answer: late March to mid-April for the blossom, and mid-October to late November for the maples. Every other season has its own case, and the weather, the holidays and Hokkaido's separate calendar decide everything else.the full articleRows of purple salvia in a field below the snow-streaked Tokachi range, FuranoregionsBiei and Furano: the Flower Fields of SummerBiei's patchwork hills and Furano's flower slopes lie forty minutes apart in central Hokkaidō, joined by farm roads, named trees and the Tokachi range that stands behind both.the full articleA line of cherry trees in full bloom above a field of yellow canola under a blue skyplanningCherry Blossom Away from the CrowdsQuiet cherry blossom in Japan is a matter of where the tree stands: the castle towns history never made famous, the canals and rivers that run through them, and a single lit branch in a temple forecourt after dark.the full articleRowboats on the stone-walled moat of Chidorigafuchi beneath cherry trees in blossom, Tokyo, by dayseasonsCherry Blossom Forecast 2027Japan's cherry blossom, city by city: the historical ladder of opening and full bloom, read beside how the 2026 season ran, with the dated 2027 forecasts added as the forecasters publish them.the full articleMature cherry trees in full bloom scattered across an open grass lawn under a bright blue skyseasonsThe Late Bloom: Cherry Blossom in HokkaidōWhen Honshū has turned to green leaf, Hokkaidō's cherry blossom is only beginning: a second spring, weeks behind the rest of Japan, with a deeper pink cherry of its own and plum and cherry flowering side by side.the full articleBare trees wrapped in warm white lights along the pedestrian avenue of Marunouchi Naka-dori, Tokyo, in winterseasonsChristmas in Japan: Lights, Cake, Chicken and SnowChristmas in Japan belongs to Christmas Eve: dinner for two, a white cake crowned with strawberries, avenues strung with light and, in a great many homes, a bucket of fried chicken. How Japan keeps the season, and how to spend it beautifully, in Tokyo, in Kyoto or on the snow of Niseko and Hakuba.the full articleA dense grove of bare trees standing in a wide, untouched snowfield under a pale winter skyregionsEastern Hokkaidō in WinterDrift ice presses against the Okhotsk coast, the great marsh and the caldera lakes lie under snow, and the far east of Hokkaidō becomes the emptiest and most elemental country in Japan.the full articleThe wooden stage of Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto, built out over the hillside on tall pillarsplanningWhat Eighteen Months Ahead Actually MeansJapan specialists begin the best journeys a year and a half out. The reason lies in the country's own calendars: inns of a dozen rooms, gardens seen by application, and seasons the whole nation travels for.the full articleA lone figure photographs a long riverside avenue of cherry blossom trees in full bloom, with small groups seated on the grass beneath the canopy in the distanceexperiencesHanami: How Japan Watches the BlossomHanami means flower viewing, and the custom asks for an afternoon beneath the tree. Its history runs from an emperor's banquet in 812 to the modern picnic, and its deepest subject is the moment the petals fall.the full articleSnow-covered Mount Yōtei glowing orange under a clearing winter sky above a snow-laden forest in HokkaidōseasonsHokkaido by SeasonHokkaidō keeps four seasons as distinct as four countries: deep snow in February, cherry blossom in May, a cool, clear July and the first autumn colour in Japan. When to go, and what each season gives.the full articleRows of lavender in full bloom across a farmed field in central Hokkaidō, the flower spikes dense with colourseasonsHokkaido's Lavender SeasonEvery July the farm hills of central Hokkaidō turn the clearest colour of the Japanese summer. When the lavender peaks, and how a Mediterranean flower came to a northern island in 1937 and stayed.the full articleSnow-covered gassho-zukuri farmhouses with steep thatched roofs in Shirakawa-go, a snowy mountain ridge under a clear blue sky beyondseasonsJapan in Winter: Snow Country, Onsen and a Quiet KyotoWinter is the season Japan keeps for itself: snow on the thatch of Shirakawa-go, macaques in a steaming spring in Nagano, drift ice off Hokkaido and Kyoto at its quietest. Where to go, and why it is worth it.the full articleA hillside temple village on Mount Yoshino wrapped in cherry blossom in golden early light, seen from a high viewpoint across the valleyregionsJapan's Spring, Region by RegionJapan's cherry blossom is one flower, and the country around it changes completely between Okinawa's January bloom and Hokkaidō's second spring in May. A region by region reading of the best places to see it.the full articleBacklit gold and red maple branches before a vermilion and white temple pavilion in autumnregionsKoyasan in AutumnKoyasan in autumn has a sterner beauty than most of Japan's seasonal displays: a night of temple lodging, a mountain town of 117 temples, and the cedar path to Okunoin under the last of the maples.the full articleKiyomizu-dera's wooden temple hall lit at dusk above a hillside of brilliant red autumn colourregionsKyoto in AutumnKyoto in autumn is the old capital at its most composed: a basin that turns from the hills down into the streets, canals and evening lanes of late November.the full articleA traditional flat-bottomed canal boat carries passengers beneath the great vermilion torii of Heian Jingu on the Okazaki Canal, framed by cherry blossom branchesregionsKyoto in Cherry Blossom SeasonKyoto's cherry blossom season belongs to its canals and old quarters as much as to any single site, and to the spring light that moves across a city closed in by hills on three sides.the full articleDaigo-ji's vermilion Bentendo hall and arched bridge reflected in a pond, framed by gold and red autumn maplesregionsKyoto's Temples in AutumnTōfukuji, Eikan-dō, Nanzenji, Kiyomizu-dera and a handful of quieter precincts: the Kyoto temples where the autumn maples are framed by gates, corridors, ponds and moss.the full articleA hanging temple lantern and tiled eave framed by cherry blossom on a Kyoto hillsideregionsKyoto's Temples in BlossomKyoto keeps its densest cherry blossom inside its temple and shrine grounds, and each precinct, from Daigo-ji's pagoda to Ryōan-ji's raked stone, frames the flower in its own way.the full articleThe white keep of Matsumae Castle, its gold roof ornaments bright against the sky, beside a branch of cherry blossomregionsMatsumae and the Castles of the Northern BloomHokkaidō's late cherry blossom season belongs to three places: Matsumae's park of ten thousand trees flowering in turn, the star-shaped fort of Goryōkaku seen from above, and Hakodate, one of the first two ports Japan agreed to open to foreign ships.the full articleFallen red maple leaves scattered across moss and a lichen-covered stone beside still waterexperiencesMomijigari: Chasing the Autumn LeavesMomijigari, the autumn leaf hunt, began as a pastime of the Heian court, and it is still the reason Japan goes out into the hills each autumn: to see the maples turn before they fall.the full articleMount Fuji's snow-capped peak rising beyond a dense canopy of cherry blossom trees in full bloomregionsMount Fuji and the Cherry BlossomAt the Fuji Five Lakes the cherry trees flower a week or two after Tokyo's, while snow still covers the upper third of the mountain above them.the full articleSapporo under snow seen from high above, the towers of the city centre catching low winter light and the white plain stretching to the horizon beyondcultureThe Sapporo Snow Festival: Dates, the Three Sites and Where to StayEvery February Hokkaido's capital builds a city of snow down the length of Odori Park. When the 2027 festival runs, what each of its three sites offers, how to see it well, and where to stay in Sapporo and beyond.the full articleA yellow gondola climbing above a sea of cloud at the Unkai Terrace, Tomamu, HokkaidoseasonsSummer in Hokkaido: The Japan Skiers Never SeeFor twenty years the world has come to Hokkaidō for its snow. The Japanese come in summer, for caldera lakes, empty roads, the wild coast of Shiretoko and the kitchen the whole country eats from.the full articleThree whole matsutake mushrooms resting on cedar sprigs in a wooden boxexperiencesThe Autumn TableIn autumn Japan cooks with matsutake, chestnut, new rice, persimmon and the fish of cooling water, and its best kitchens do as little to them as they can.the full articleA pair of red-crowned cranes calling together with visible breath in the cold air over a snowy fieldexperiencesThe Cranes of KushiroThe red-crowned crane spends its winter in the marsh and farmland around Kushiro, dancing in pairs on snow-covered ground, the courtship of a bird recovered from the edge of extinction.the full articleRed maple leaves over a mountain stream in autumn colourseasonsThe Foliage Front: How Japan's Autumn MovesJapan's autumn colour moves as a front, from the mountains of Hokkaidō in September to the temples of Kyoto in late November. Where it stands in a given week decides where a traveller should be.the full articleA birch leaning over the stony shore of Lake Akan in autumn, fallen leaves at the water's edge and a boat crossing toward a wooded islandregionsThe Rivers of the Northern AutumnIn northern Japan the autumn colour is best seen beside moving water: the Oirase Stream, the ravines of Naruko and Dakigaeri, the poled boats of Geibikei, and the long valleys of the Tadami and the Mogami.the full articleA vast, ancient weeping cherry tree in full bloom, its cascading branches reaching almost to the ground above a stone terraceseasonsThe Varieties of SakuraSakura is a family of several hundred wild and cultivated cherries. How Somei Yoshino, the weeping and wild cherries, the early bloomers and the double-flowered varieties differ, and when each one opens.the full articleTokyo Skytree illuminated at night and framed by cherry blossom branches in the foregroundregionsTokyo in Cherry Blossom SeasonTokyo's cherry blossom follows the water of the old city: the Imperial Palace moat at Chidorigafuchi, the Sumida and Meguro rivers, and the parks and cemetery avenues laid out as Edo became Tokyo.the full articleCherry blossom petals falling like snow over a stone canal in Kyoto at full bloomseasonsWhen Cherry Blossoms Bloom in JapanJapan's cherry blossom season runs for more than three months across the country and a handful of days in any one city. How the sakura front moves, how the bloom is declared, and when Kyoto and Tokyo come into full flower.the full articleA row of golden ginkgo trees beside a lake in autumn, their leaves turned fully yellowseasonsWhen Japan's Autumn Colour PeaksJapan's autumn colour runs in reverse of the cherry blossom, descending from the high north in September to the old capitals in early December. How the season moves, and when each region reaches its height.the full articleA vermilion arched bridge and pagoda roof among fiery red and gold maples beside a still pondregionsWhere Japan's Autumn Colour Runs DeepestJapan's autumn takes a different form in every region: mountain forests, castle moats, old capitals, the light of the Inland Sea. A survey of where the colour suits the place best.the full articleA historic hot-spring town at dusk, wooden inns lit against a hillside of autumn colourplanningWhere to Stay in AutumnWhere a traveller sleeps in Japan in autumn decides whether the colour ends at dusk or stays through the evening: the garden ryokan, the mountain onsen inn and the city room with a view.the full articleA tatami guest room in a Kyoto ryokan with a low window seat and a paper floor lantern, shoji screens open to a maple garden outsideplanningWhere to Stay in Kyoto in Blossom SeasonIn blossom season the place a guest stays in Kyoto decides how much of the flower is seen from the room. The garden ryokan, the machiya, the city hotel and the room beside the river each give the season differently.the full articleA monk in magenta ceremonial robes seen from behind, ringing a great temple bellseasonsNew Year in Japan: Traditions, Bells and the First SunOshōgatsu, the Japanese New Year, is the great festival of the Japanese year: the bells of New Year's Eve, osechi in lacquer, the first shrine visit, the first sun of the year and the lucky bags of the second of January. How to welcome the year at a ryokan, in Kyoto or Tokyo, or on the snow of Niseko and Hakuba.the full article

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