Mt. Takao Autumn Leaves: When to Go and How to Avoid the Crowds

Mt. Takao’s autumn leaves usually look best from mid-November to early December, according to Hachioji’s official tourism association. It is the busiest time of the year on the mountain. The same source advises avoiding weekends, holidays and peak hours. If you can only go on a weekend, be at the cable car when it opens at 8:00, or walk up a quieter trail and come down by cable car.

When to go

Typical peak	Mid-November to early December (Hachioji Visitors & Convention Association)
Busiest days	November weekends and holidays
Last to change colour	The Shoin hall at Yakuoin, which the temple calls the last spot in its grounds to colour
Festival	The Mt. Takao Momiji (autumn leaves) Festival: October 24 to December 13, 2026

Colour varies from year to year. Yakuoin posts photo updates of its grounds during the season, and the tourism association’s festival page shows photos from past years.

Where to see the leaves

The tourism association names these spots on its autumn map, from the bottom up:

Spot	Where	Notes
Kiyotaki Station	Foot of the mountain, 5 min from Takaosanguchi	The square in front of the cable car station. Easy even if you don’t climb
Along the cable car line	Between the two stations	Best seen from the cable car itself
Takaosan Station / Kasumidai	Top of the cable car	Viewpoint over the Kanto Plain
Kompiradai	Short detour off Trail 1	Yakuoin says you can see the ginkgo trees along the Koshu-kaido road in Hachioji from here
Yakuoin Temple	20 min from the cable car	The temple names Shitennomon Gate, Daishido, the main shrine and the Busshari-to stupa
Busshari-to stupa	Between Otoko-zaka and Onna-zaka	The temple calls it one of the best-coloured spots in recent years, and quiet because it is off the trail
Summit	599 m	Observation deck facing the Tanzawa mountains
Momijidai	About 5 min past the summit	The name means “maple terrace”. There are toilets here (official map)

The Inariyama course is another option. Takao Tozan’s trail map describes its maples in autumn. See our trail comparison.

What changes in November

Several prices and ticket rules are different during the leaf season. As of October 2026:

	November	Rest of the year
Monkey Park entry (adult / child)	¥700 / ¥350 (high-season price, Nov 1–30, 2026)	¥600 / ¥300
Gokurakuyu hot spring (adult)	¥1,300 on busy-season days, which include the autumn leaves season	¥1,100 on weekdays
Keio Takaosan Yuttari Kippu (onsen set)	Not sold in November	Weekdays only
Cable car payment	IC card tap at the gate from Nov 1, 2026	Buy a ticket first

The Takaosan Kippu (train + cable car or lift round trip, ¥1,450 from Shinjuku) is still sold in November. See the day trip guide.

Parking at the foot fills up in the leaf season. Takao Tozan Railway’s access page warns that the autumn leaves period is very crowded, and its Monkey Park site recommends the train on weekends and holidays.

Evening cable cars and light-ups

• Beer Mount: in 2026 the beer garden at the top station is open until November 29, and the last cable car is 21:15 while it’s open. Normal November last departures are 17:45 on weekdays and 18:00 on weekends.
• Light-up: for 2026, the festival page lists a light-up of the leaves along the cable car line, with night views, on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from November 1 to December 6, from sunset until 20:30. Check Takao Tozan Railway’s notices for the cable car’s hours on those evenings; in 2025 the extended runs were cancelled in rain.
• Hiking down in the dark is not recommended. The operator asks hikers to be off the trails before sunset.

How to avoid the worst crowds

1. Go on a weekday. This is the tourism association’s first piece of advice for the season.
2. Start early. The cable car starts at 8:00 (the lift at 9:00). The operator says the cable car may start earlier when crowded, and runs extra cars every 7 minutes.
3. Have an IC card ready. From November 1, 2026 you can tap through the gates without buying a ticket.
4. Walk up, ride down, or the other way, to avoid queuing twice. Note that a narrow part of Trail 6 becomes one-way uphill in busy periods.
5. Bring a packed lunch. Then you can eat where and when it’s quiet instead of queuing at the summit or the soba shops. Takao Tozan’s guide suggests a mat, because benches fill up on holidays.
6. Finish with a soak. Gokurakuyu next to the station opens until 22:30 (last entry 21:45). See our Gokurakuyu guide.

Short on time or energy? The square in front of Kiyotaki Station is one of the tourism association’s named leaf spots, and it is only about 5 minutes from Takaosanguchi Station. You can see colour there without riding or climbing.

Other autumn events

The tourism association’s 2026 programme: a fire ritual (saito goma) by Yakuoin’s chief priest at the Kiyotaki square from 10:00 on opening day (October 24), performances by local university students on the square next to the cable car’s Takaosan Station, free eco bags for the first 300 people from 10:00 on each Saturday in November, a lottery for people who shop or eat at the Mt. Takao shopping association’s businesses, and a deerskin key ring workshop on weekends and holidays from October 3 to December 27 (11:00 and 14:30, ¥600, 10 people per session). Check the festival page for updates.

For the temple itself, see our Yakuoin guide.