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Hakone Autumn Leaves 2026: Forecast Peak Dates by Area, What Turns When on the Loop and the 16:25 Last Boat

Updated 2026-10-22

Hakone does not turn all at once. The Weathernews foliage forecast (read 2026-10-22) puts Lake Ashi and Gora Park at peak from 14 November, the Hakone Museum of Art from 18 November, the Kowakidani and Sengokuhara gardens from 20 to 22 November, and the ropeway stretch around Owakudani earlier than all of them, in its typical late-October-to-early-November window. Every spot was still green on 19 to 22 October. Set against the same forecast for Kamakura (Engakuji 30 November, Hasedera 1 December), Hakone peaks about two weeks earlier, so a traveller with two free days in late autumn should take Hakone in the third week of November and keep Kamakura for the first week of December. The day itself still ends at 16:25, the last boat from Togendai, until 30 November.

Forecast board of ten Hakone autumn-colour spots in date order, from the Weathernews forecast read 22 October 2026: Owakudani ropeway typical late October to early November, Botanical Garden of Wetlands from 12 November, Lake Ashi 14 November, Gora Park 14 November, Hakone Museum of Art 18 November, Komagatake Ropeway 19 November, Hourai-en garden 20 November, Choanji temple 21 November, Okada Museum garden 22 November, Open-Air Museum typical mid to late November. Leaves fall from 25 November at the wetlands garden to 6 December at the Museum of Art. A note marks 14 to 18 November as the week when the lake and both Gora gardens peak together.
Read the middle column: 14 to 18 November is the only week where the lake and the two Gora gardens are all at peak. The Kowakidani and Sengokuhara spots follow a few days later, and the ropeway runs ahead of everything.

The forecast, spot by spot

Weathernews publishes a predicted peak date and a leaf-fall date for each listed spot, plus the typical peak. The table keeps all three, because a forecast made in October moves with the weather, while the typical window does not.

Spot Where it is Typical peak 2026 forecast: peak from Leaves fall from Getting in
Owakudani and the ropeway Sounzan – Owakudani – Ubako late Oct – early Nov no dated forecast – ropeway ¥2,000 one way, free with the Freepass
Hakone Botanical Garden of Wetlands Sengokuhara, 10 min walk from the Sengoku Annaijo-mae bus stop late Oct – early Nov 12 Nov 25 Nov autumn wild-flower show to 8 Nov; maple quiz rally from mid-Oct
Lake Ashi Moto-Hakone, Kojiri, the boats early Nov 14 Nov 27 Nov the shore is free; boat ¥1,700 one way
Gora Park 5 min from Gora Station, or Koen-shimo on the cable car late Nov 14 Nov 3 Dec ¥650, free with the Freepass; 9:00–17:00 to 30 Nov
Hakone Museum of Art in front of Koen-kami cable car station late Nov 18 Nov 6 Dec ¥1,000 pre-opening rate from 30 Oct (¥1,500 regular), junior high and under free, closed Thursdays
Komagatake Ropeway Hakone-en on the lake – 19 Nov – ¥2,200 return, 10% off with the Freepass
Hourai-en Kowakidani, by the Horaien bus stop on the H line mid – late Nov 20 Nov 4 Dec free, open garden (Weathernews listing)
Choanji temple Sengokuhara, by the Sengoku bus stop mid – late Nov 21 Nov 2 Dec free grounds (Weathernews listing); the 500 rakan statues sit among the maples
Okada Museum garden Kowakidani early – late Nov 22 Nov 2 Dec the museum's Kaikatei tea house is the viewpoint it names
Hakone Open-Air Museum Chokoku-no-mori Station mid – late Nov no dated forecast – see the Open-Air Museum ticket guide

Two readings of the table. First, the typical window for Gora Park and the Museum of Art is "late November", but the 2026 forecast brings both forward to the 14th and 18th; if that holds, the third week of November is the one to book. Second, the three spots with no dated forecast are the high ones (the ropeway) and the sculpture park; for the ropeway, the typical window is already closing when the lake opens, which is why the order you ride the loop matters more in autumn than in any other season.

Sengokuhara has a second show that runs before the maples: the susuki (silver grass) field at the foot of Mt. Daigatake turns gold from late September to late October, in the Hakone Tourist Association's words, and the Kanagawa Tourism Association gives the viewing season as late September to early November. The Hakone Tozan Bus T line from Hakone-Yumoto reaches the Sengoku Annaijo-mae stop in about 30 minutes, and the field is free to walk.

Where it turns on the loop, in riding order

Route map of the Hakone loop, Hakone-Yumoto to Gora by train, cable car to Sounzan, ropeway over Owakudani to Togendai, boat to Moto-Hakone and bus back, with the 2026 autumn timing at each stop: the ropeway stretch late October to early November, Gora Park 14 November and the Museum of Art 18 November, Sengokuhara susuki golden to late October with the wetlands garden 12 November and Choanji 21 November, Lake Ashi 14 November and Komagatake 19 November with the last boat from Togendai at 16:25, and on the Yumoto side the Daimyo procession on 3 November at 11:30 and Hourai-en at Kowakidani from 20 November. A note circles the ropeway as the part to ride first.
Colour comes down the mountain. The ropeway is the first stretch to turn and the only one that may be past peak by the time the lake and Gora are at their best, so ride it in the morning.

The usual loop is train, cable car, ropeway, boat, bus, and it is the right order in November too, for a plain reason: the top turns first. Riding from Sounzan over Owakudani in the morning puts you on the earliest-turning section when the light is on it; the boat and the Gora gardens, which peak later, are the afternoon. The Hakone day trip itinerary has every ride time and last departure; the ones that bite in autumn are:

For the Gora gardens, the cable car trick from the Gora Park guide still applies: get off at Koen-shimo, walk up through the park, and the Museum of Art's gate is directly in front of the next station, Koen-kami. In 2026 the museum is reopening in stages after a renovation closure that ran from 7 May to 29 October: from 30 October the annex galleries and a new café open at the ¥1,000 pre-opening rate, and the main building's galleries reopen on 23 December. The museum's notice names the annex and the café for the pre-opening period and does not mention the garden, so the moss garden's status on a given November day is a question for the museum's calendar, which is the one thing on this page I could not settle from the published pages.

What it costs from Tokyo in November

Single tickets With the Hakone Freepass
Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto by Romancecar ¥1,270 fare + ¥1,200 seat fee = ¥2,470 each way ¥7,100 for 2 days from Shinjuku (child ¥1,600); the seat fee is extra
Tozan Train, Yumoto to Gora ¥460 included
Cable car, Gora to Sounzan ¥430 (¥340 if you break the ride at the park) included
Ropeway, Sounzan to Togendai ¥2,000 included
Boat, Togendai to Moto-Hakone ¥1,700 included (normal cabin)
Bus, Moto-Hakone to Yumoto ¥1,210 included
Bus, Yumoto to Togendai via Sengoku (susuki, Choanji) ¥1,330 included
Gora Park ¥650 free
Museum of Art (pre-opening) ¥1,000 ¥1,000

Riding the whole loop on single tickets from Yumoto comes to ¥5,800 before Gora Park, so the ¥6,000 Freepass from Odawara (¥7,100 from Shinjuku, which also covers the Odakyu fare both ways) pays for itself on the loop alone; the break-even guide runs the other cases. Fares are the operators' tables from 1 October 2025, read 10 and 11 October 2026.

The one fixed date: the Daimyo procession on 3 November

The Hakone Daimyo Gyoretsu is held on 3 November every year, Culture Day, a Tuesday and a public holiday in 2026. The Kanagawa Tourism Association's listing gives the 2026 start as 11:30 from Hotel Nanpuso in Hakone-Yumoto, with about 170 people in costume walking through the Yumoto streets, and a road closure for vehicles from about 11:00 to 15:00. The procession dates from the Hakone tourism exposition of 1935 and restarted after the war in 1947. On 3 November the colour at Yumoto itself is still green by every forecast above, so a procession day is a Yumoto-and-Owakudani day, not a Gora-gardens day.

Also inside the season: Gora Park's autumn roses (about 600 bushes, best until early November) with free weekend concerts at 11:30 and 13:30 until 3 November, and the Botanical Garden of Wetlands' autumn wild-flower show to 8 November.

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Frequently asked questions

When is the best time to see autumn leaves in Hakone in 2026?

The third week of November, on the Weathernews forecast read on 22 October 2026: Lake Ashi and Gora Park from 14 November, the Hakone Museum of Art from 18 November, Hourai-en and Choanji from 20 and 21 November. The ropeway stretch around Owakudani turns earlier, typically late October to early November.

Is Hakone or Kamakura better for autumn colour?

They peak two weeks apart, so the answer is both, on different days. The same forecast puts Kamakura's Engakuji at 30 November and Hasedera at 1 December, after Hakone's gardens have begun to drop their leaves (Gora Park from 3 December). Hakone in mid-November, Kamakura in early December; the Kamakura autumn leaves 2026 guide has the forecast for ten Kamakura spots and the Hasedera light-up dates.

Where is the Hakone Museum of Art, and is it open in autumn 2026?

In front of Koen-kami station on the Gora cable car, next to Gora Park. It was closed for renovation from 7 May to 29 October 2026; from 30 October the annex galleries and café open at a ¥1,000 pre-opening rate, and the main galleries reopen on 23 December. It closes on Thursdays.

What time does a Hakone day end in November?

The last boat from Togendai to Moto-Hakone leaves at 16:25 until 30 November, ropeway boarding ends at 17:00, and the last cable car from Sounzan to Gora is at 17:55. Sunset in the Tokyo table is 16:46 on 1 November and 16:28 on the 30th.

When is the Hakone Daimyo procession in 2026?

Tuesday 3 November 2026, a public holiday, leaving Hotel Nanpuso in Hakone-Yumoto at 11:30 with about 170 people, and vehicle restrictions in Yumoto from about 11:00 to 15:00.

Official sources (checked 2026-10-22)

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