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Mt. Takao Autumn Leaves Festival 2026: Dates, Peak Colour, Light-Up Nights and the Last Cable Car

Updated 2026-10-22

The Takao Momiji Festival 2026 runs from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 13 December, and the organiser (the Hachioji Tourism Convention Association, HKC) says the leaves are usually at their best from mid-November to early December. On the Takao Visitor Center's report of 16 October, only the summit had started to turn. The one thing most visitors miss: the light-up from 1 November to 6 December is along the cable car line, on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays only, from sunset to 20:30. A round trip from Shinjuku with the cable car both ways is ¥1,450 per adult with the Mt. Takao Ticket. Dates and hours were checked 2026-10-22 on the HKC festival page, the Visitor Center's foliage report and Takao Tozan's timetable.

Calendar strip for the Takao Momiji Festival 2026: festival 24 October to 13 December, typical peak colour mid-November to early December, light-up nights on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 1 November to 6 December, and the last cable car down at 17:45 on weekdays and 18:00 on weekends until November, 17:15 and 17:30 in December. The 16 October report had the summit just starting to turn.
The festival is seven weeks long, but the colour and the lights overlap for about three of them. A late-November Friday night sits inside both.

The dates that matter

What When Where
Momiji Festival Sat 24 Oct – Sun 13 Dec 2026 the whole mountain; most events in the square in front of Kiyotaki Station (the cable car's lower station)
Saito-goma fire ritual Sat 24 Oct from 10:00, one day only Kiyotaki Station square. The head priest of Yakuoin prays for safe climbing.
Typical peak colour mid-Nov to early Dec summit and Momijidai first, then the slopes
Light-up and night views 1 Nov – 6 Dec, Fri, Sat, Sun and holidays, sunset to 20:30 along the cable car line
Free eco bags every Saturday in November from 10:00, first 300 people Kiyotaki Station square (Takaosan shopping association)
Sticker lottery 24 Oct – 13 Dec, 5,990 winners buy food or souvenirs at the shopping-association shops, draw at the Takaosanguchi tourist office (Musasabi House), 8:00–17:00 in October and November, 8:00–16:00 in December
Deer-leather key-ring workshop Sat, Sun and holidays, 3 Oct – 27 Dec, at 11:00 and 14:30 Takao Visitor Center at the summit, ¥600, 10 people per session

The holidays inside the light-up period are Tuesday 3 November and Monday 23 November, so those two nights are lit as well. The festival is co-organised by the shopping association, Yakuoin temple, Takao Tozan (the cable car and chair lift company) and Keio.

Where the colour is, and how far along it was on 16 October

Side view of Mt. Takao showing the five spots in the Visitor Center's foliage report and their status on 16 October 2026: Kiyotaki Station at the foot green to starting, along the cable car green to starting, around Yakuoin Temple green to starting, the 599 m summit starting to turn, Momijidai beyond the summit green to starting. The cable car climbs 1,000 m of track and 271 m of height in 6 minutes for 490 yen; Trail 1 continues on foot to the summit. The light-up is along the cable car line only.
Colour starts at the top and works down. If you go early in the season, walk to the summit; if you go late, the cable car line itself is the show.

The Takao Visitor Center, a free Tokyo Metropolitan facility at the summit (10:00–16:00, closed Mondays and over New Year), posts a foliage report for five spots. Its 16 October update:

Spot Where it is 16 October status
Kiyotaki Station the foot, 5 minutes from Takaosanguchi Station green to starting to turn
Along the cable car the 1,000 m climb to Takaosan Station the same, green to starting
Around Yakuoin Temple mid-mountain, on Trail 1 green, just starting
Summit (599 m) the top of Trail 1, by the Visitor Center starting to turn
Momijidai beyond the summit on the trail towards Mt. Jimba green to starting, like the foot

Read the table from the bottom up: the summit turns first, and the foot last. That is why the organiser gives a three-week range and not a date. In the first half of November the colour is at the top, so go up to the summit; by early December it has reached the cable car line and the foot, which is also where the lights are.

A festival day from Shinjuku, and what it costs

Weekday Saturday, Sunday or holiday
Keio, Shinjuku to Takaosanguchi ¥430 each way (child ¥220) the same, or the reserved-seat Mt. TAKAO train at 10:00 and 11:00 (+¥400 online, ¥500 at a machine)
Cable car or chair lift ¥490 one way, ¥980 round trip (child ¥250 / ¥500) the same; 7-minute intervals when busy
With the Mt. Takao Ticket (Keio round trip + ride) ¥1,450 both ways, ¥1,090 one way (child ¥740 / ¥560) the same ticket; still valid on the Mt. TAKAO train with a seat ticket
Hike both ways instead ¥860 ¥860, or ¥1,660 with reserved seats both ways
Last cable car down (Sep–Nov) 17:45 18:00
Last cable car down (Dec) 17:15 17:30
Last chair lift down 16:30 (May–Nov), 16:00 (Dec–Apr) extended depending on conditions in May–Nov

Buy the Mt. Takao Ticket at the Keio ticket machine in Shinjuku before you leave; it is not sold at Takaosanguchi. The price is Keio's station-by-station table revised 1 October 2025, so from Shibuya or Kichijoji it is the same ¥1,450 and from Chofu ¥1,340. The reserved-seat Mt. TAKAO train runs on weekends and holidays only, back from Takaosanguchi at 14:15, 15:15, 16:15 and 17:15. Work out your own group in the Mt. Takao day trip cost calculator, and compare the two rides in cable car vs chair lift.

How to see it without the queue

HKC's own words are that the leaf season is "the busiest time of the year" on Mt. Takao, and its advice is to shift away from crowded hours and from weekends and holidays. Four ways to do that, from the one that costs nothing:

  1. Go on a weekday. Everything on this page except the Mt. TAKAO train and the light-up happens on weekdays too, and the sticker lottery and the Visitor Center are open.
  2. Take the first cable car at 8:00, or walk up. Trail 6 (3.3 km, 100 minutes) and Trail 1 (3.8 km, 100 minutes) both start by Kiyotaki Station and skip the ride entirely; the day trip itinerary compares every trail.
  3. Ride up, walk down. Walking down Trail 1 (80 minutes) passes Yakuoin and the Octopus Cedar and avoids the afternoon queue at Takaosan Station. The ¥1,090 one-way Mt. Takao Ticket is built for this.
  4. For the lights, pick a Friday. The light-up runs on Fridays as well as weekends, and a Friday in late November is inside the typical peak.

Two things change this autumn at the top station. Takaosan Station (the cable car's upper station) is being rebuilt, and from 10 October to 7 December the walkway you use through the station changes with the work area. And the chair lift's last ride down is at 16:30 on weekdays, more than an hour before the last cable car, so plan the lift for the way up. Takao Tozan's hiking guide asks you to be off the mountain before sunset, which in Tokyo is about 16:30 in late November (16:46 on 1 November, 16:28 on the 30th, by the National Astronomical Observatory's table); the forest goes completely dark, and the lit section on light-up nights is the cable car line, not the trails or the summit. After a cold afternoon, the onsen next to Takaosanguchi Station is ¥1,100 on weekdays.

The mountain does not close when the festival ends on 13 December: the Mt. Takao in winter guide has the December cable car hours, the solstice sunset and Yakuoin's New Year dates.

Rather go with a guide in the leaf season?

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Frequently asked questions

When is the best time to see autumn leaves on Mt. Takao?

Mid-November to early December in a typical year, according to the Hachioji Tourism Convention Association, which organises the Momiji Festival. The summit turns before the foot: on 16 October 2026 the Visitor Center reported the summit starting to turn and everywhere lower still green. Hakone, higher and further west, is forecast to peak about a week earlier; see the Hakone autumn leaves 2026 guide.

What are the Mt. Takao Momiji Festival 2026 dates?

Saturday 24 October to Sunday 13 December 2026. Most events are in the square in front of Kiyotaki Station, the lower cable car station. The saito-goma fire ritual is on 24 October from 10:00, and free eco bags go to the first 300 people at 10:00 every Saturday in November.

Is there a light-up on Mt. Takao in autumn?

Yes. From 1 November to 6 December 2026 the cable car line is lit from sunset to 20:30 on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, including 3 and 23 November. The lit section is the cable car line, not the hiking trails or the summit.

How much does a Mt. Takao autumn trip cost from Tokyo?

¥1,450 per adult from Shinjuku with the Mt. Takao Ticket, which covers the Keio round trip and the cable car or lift both ways. Hiking both ways costs ¥860 in train fares. A reserved seat on the weekend Mt. TAKAO train adds ¥400 each way online.

How crowded is Mt. Takao during the autumn leaves?

The organiser calls it the busiest time of the year and advises avoiding weekends, holidays and the busy hours. On a weekday, or on the 8:00 first cable car, the queue is shortest; walking down Trail 1 avoids the afternoon queue at the top station.

Official sources (checked 2026-10-22)

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