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Kamakura Autumn Leaves 2026: Forecast Peak Dates for Ten Spots, the Hasedera Light-Up (21 Nov–6 Dec) and a December Day That Ends at 19:00

Updated 2026-10-22

Kamakura turns late, and in 2026 later than its own typical window. Every Kamakura spot in the Weathernews foliage listing gives "late November" as the start of its usual season, but the three spots with a dated forecast (read 2026-10-22) begin at the very end of it: Engakuji from 30 November, Hasedera from 1 December, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu from 2 December, and Zuisenji, the last in the Kanto region to turn, from 10 December. Leaves start to fall from 13 to 16 December at the first three. Against that sits one fixed date: Hasedera's autumn night viewing, 21 November to 6 December, gate closing at 19:00. Put the two together and the week to come is 1 to 6 December, when the three dated peaks and the light-up overlap. Everything was still green on 19 and 20 October.

Calendar strip from 14 November to 31 December 2026 with a bar for each Kamakura autumn-colour spot, from the Weathernews forecast read 22 October 2026. Engakuji: typical late November to early December, forecast peak from 30 November, leaves falling from 14 December. Hasedera: typical late November to mid-December, forecast peak from 1 December, falling from 16 December, night viewing 21 November to 6 December. Tsurugaoka Hachimangu: forecast peak from 2 December, falling from 13 December. Zuisenji: typical mid-December, forecast peak from 10 December, falling from 26 December. Kenchoji and Kakuonji typical late November to mid-December, Hokokuji, Genjiyama Park and Kamakuragu late November to early December, Kotoku-in mid-December, none with a dated forecast. Hakone's Gora Park, for comparison, 14 November to 3 December. A note circles 1 to 6 December.
Grey is the usual window, colour is this year's forecast. The three coloured bars that carry a date all start inside the same week, and the dashed line above Hasedera's bar is the light-up.

Ten spots, one table

Weathernews lists ten Kamakura spots. Four carry a predicted peak date and a leaf-fall date for 2026; the other six show only the typical window. The fees and hours are each temple's own, read 9 to 13 October 2026, with Zuisenji's read today.

Spot Where Typical peak 2026 forecast: peak from Leaves fall from Getting in
Engakuji 1 min from JR Kita-Kamakura Station late Nov – early Dec 30 Nov 14 Dec ¥500 (child ¥200); Dec–Feb entry until 16:00
Hasedera 5 min from Enoden Hase Station late Nov – mid Dec 1 Dec 16 Dec ¥400 (child ¥200); night viewing 21 Nov–6 Dec to 19:00
Tsurugaoka Hachimangu 10 min from Kamakura Station late Nov – mid Dec 2 Dec 13 Dec grounds free, 6:00–20:00; no light-up
Zuisenji bus to Daitonomiya, then 10 min mid Dec 10 Dec 26 Dec ¥200 (child ¥100), 9:00–16:30
Kenchoji 15 min from Kita-Kamakura late Nov – mid Dec no dated forecast – ¥500 (child ¥200), cash only, 8:30–16:30
Kakuonji Nikaido, by bus late Nov – mid Dec no dated forecast – see the temple
Hokokuji bus to Jomyoji, then 3 min late Nov – early Dec no dated forecast – ¥400, 9:00–16:00; bamboo garden guide
Genjiyama Park the hill west of the station late Nov – early Dec no dated forecast – free; on the Daibutsu trail
Kamakuragu Nikaido, by bus late Nov – early Dec no dated forecast – grounds free
Kotoku-in (Great Buddha) 7 min from Hase Station mid Dec no dated forecast – ¥300 (child ¥150); Great Buddha guide

Two things I take from the table. First, "late November" is the typical start everywhere, yet the 2026 dates land on the 30th, the 1st and the 2nd. A visit in the third week of November, which would be right for Hakone, is a week early for Kamakura this year if the forecast holds. Second, the spots that turn latest are the ones on the Hase side: Kotoku-in's typical window is mid-December and Hasedera's forecast runs to the 16th, so a trip on a weekday around 10 December still gets the Great Buddha's ginkgo and Hasedera's maples after Kita-Kamakura has begun to drop.

Weathernews names the trees, which tells you what colour to expect: ginkgo (yellow) on the approach at Engakuji and in the Kenchoji grounds, where a December report describes a "carpet" of fallen ginkgo leaves; maples at Hasedera, Zuisenji and around Engakuji's Sanmon gate; ginkgo, sumac and maples around the two ponds at Hachimangu. Meigetsuin, the hydrangea temple, is not in the listing, but the city tourist association notes that its rear garden opens only in the iris and autumn-leaf seasons, for ¥500 on top of the ¥500 entry; see the Kita-Kamakura temples guide.

How it compares with Hakone and Mt. Takao

The same forecast puts Hakone's Gora Park at peak from 14 November and dropping from 3 December, so Hakone runs about two weeks ahead of Kamakura, and Mt. Takao's usual season is mid-November to early December. A traveller with one free weekend should read that as a choice, not a sequence: 14 to 22 November for Hakone or Takao, 1 to 6 December for Kamakura. With two weekends, both.

The Hasedera light-up: 21 November to 6 December

Hasedera's notice of 17 October 2026 fixes the autumn night viewing at Saturday 21 November to Sunday 6 December, every day, from sunset until the gate closes at 19:00 and the grounds at 19:30. Admission is the daytime fee, ¥400 for adults and ¥200 for elementary children. The temple says the lights come on before the sun goes down, that the event goes ahead in rain and is cancelled only in severe weather, that it may be extended if the colour runs late, and that tripods are not allowed on the walkways. The daytime details, the Kannon Museum and the cave are in the Hasedera guide.

Set the two dates side by side. The light-up starts on 21 November, but the forecast peak at Hasedera is 1 December, so the first ten evenings are lit grounds with mostly green maples. The last six evenings, 1 to 6 December, are the ones where the lights and the colour coincide, unless the temple uses its option to extend. Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, by contrast, has no night illumination, in Weathernews' words, and its grounds simply stay open to 20:00.

A December day: north first, the light-up last

Route map for a December day in Kamakura. JR Yokosuka Line from Kita-Kamakura to Kamakura, then the Enoden to Hase, 5 minutes, 200 yen. Off the line: Engakuji, 1 minute from Kita-Kamakura Station, 500 yen, in December entry until 16:00 and out by 16:30; Kenchoji, 15 minutes on foot, 500 yen cash only, 8:30 to 16:30; Tsurugaoka Hachimangu about 20 minutes on, grounds free 6:00 to 20:00, then 10 minutes to Kamakura Station; Hasedera, 5 minutes from Hase Station, open after dark 21 November to 6 December with the gate closing 19:00 and grounds 19:30, 400 yen. Sunset in Tokyo on 1 December is 16:28. Notes: be out of Kita-Kamakura by 16:00 in December; finish at Hasedera, the one spot with published 2026 night hours.
The temples shut before sunset and Hasedera opens after it, so the day runs south. The dashed line is the walk from Kita-Kamakura to Kamakura Station past three of the ten spots.

December changes the clock in Kita-Kamakura. Engakuji admits visitors until 16:00 from December to February (16:30 the rest of the year) and asks everyone to be out by 16:30; Kenchoji closes at 16:30 all year; Meigetsuin at 16:00. Sunset in the Tokyo table is 16:28 on 1 December, so Engakuji's gate shuts before the sun does. Hasedera then opens the other way, lit until 19:00. The order follows from the hours:

  1. Morning, Kita-Kamakura. Off the JR Yokosuka Line one stop before Kamakura. Engakuji is 1 minute from the station; Kenchoji 15 minutes along the road, with Meigetsuin's rear garden between them if it is open. Three temples, ¥1,500 per adult, ¥2,000 with the garden.
  2. Early afternoon, the shrine. Kenchoji to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu is about 20 minutes on foot (the temple's 30 minutes to Kamakura Station minus the shrine's 10). The two ponds are the colour spots; the grounds are free and stay open after everything else has closed, which makes it the place to lose an hour if you are early.
  3. Late afternoon, the Enoden. Kamakura Station to Hase is 5 minutes and ¥200. Kotoku-in is 7 minutes from Hase Station and admits until 16:45 in winter; Hasedera is 5 minutes the other way.
  4. After sunset, Hasedera. Arrive around 16:00 and the ¥400 ticket covers daylight on the terrace, the lights coming on, and the lit grounds until 19:00. Then the Enoden back to Kamakura and the JR line home.

If you come on the Odakyu Enoshima-Kamakura Freepass (¥1,640 from Shinjuku, Enoden rides included), you arrive at Kamakura Station rather than Kita-Kamakura. Reverse the morning: walk up through the shrine to Kenchoji and Engakuji, about 30 minutes from the station to Engakuji's gate, then back the same way. The rest of the day is unchanged, and the Enoden to Hase is already paid for.

What a December day costs

Adult Child (6–11)
Engakuji ¥500 ¥200
Meigetsuin, with the rear garden ¥1,000 ¥800
Kenchoji (cash only) ¥500 ¥200
Tsurugaoka Hachimangu grounds free free
Enoden, Kamakura to Hase ¥200 ¥100
Hasedera, day and light-up on one ticket ¥400 ¥200
Total at the gates ¥2,600 ¥1,500
Same day without Meigetsuin ¥1,600 ¥700

Add Kotoku-in (¥300 / ¥150) or Zuisenji (¥200 / ¥100) if you go, and the temple fees calculator totals any mix for your group. Train fares from Tokyo are on the Tokyo to Kamakura page; JR East's fare table refused to open for us again on 22 October, so the JR fare stays "at the gate" and the Odakyu Freepass price, ¥1,640, is the one we can print.

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Frequently asked questions

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

The first week of December, on the Weathernews forecast read 22 October 2026: Engakuji at peak from 30 November, Hasedera from 1 December, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu from 2 December, with leaves falling from 13 to 16 December. Zuisenji follows from 10 December. The typical window for most spots is late November to early or mid-December.

When is the Hasedera autumn light-up in 2026?

21 November to 6 December 2026, every day from sunset until the gate closes at 19:00 (grounds 19:30), for the normal ¥400 adult and ¥200 child fee. It runs in rain and may be extended if the colour is late. Tripods are not allowed on the walkways.

Is Kamakura or Hakone better for autumn colour?

Both, on different dates. Hakone's Gora Park is forecast from 14 November and dropping from 3 December; Kamakura's dated spots start on 30 November to 2 December. Hakone in mid-November, Kamakura in the first week of December.

What time do the Kamakura temples close in December?

Engakuji admits until 16:00 from December to February and closes at 16:30; Kenchoji closes at 16:30; Meigetsuin at 16:00; Hasedera at 17:00 outside the light-up and 19:00 during it; Kotoku-in admits until 16:45. Tsurugaoka Hachimangu's grounds are open 6:00 to 20:00. Sunset is 16:28 on 1 December.

Which Kamakura temple turns latest?

Zuisenji, in the Nikaido valley east of the shrine: forecast peak from 10 December 2026 and leaves falling from 26 December, which Weathernews calls the latest in the Kanto region. ¥200, 9:00 to 16:30, by bus from Kamakura Station to the Daitonomiya terminus and about 10 minutes on foot.

Official sources (checked 2026-10-22)

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