Elevated view of Tokyo cityscape including Tokyo Tower
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Spring isn’t the only colorful time to visit Tokyo — while many travel there for the soft pastels of cherry blossom season, fall paints the city in a striking palette of crimson maple and golden ginkgo leaves. The cooler temperatures are perfect for exploring neighborhoods and leaf-peeping spots, and as it gets chillier you can explore indoor immersive installations like teamLab Planets that celebrate autumn blooms in temporary artworks. Add to that exceptional hotel properties, one of the world’s most exciting food cultures, incredible shopping, and you have yourself the perfect fall trip. Here’s how you’ll want to spend autumn vacation in Tokyo.
Rotating Bouncing Spheres in the Caterpillar House
teamLab Planets
What to Do
teamLab Planets is one of the most popular art museums in Tokyo and debuted 10 new major artworks this year. Expanding its overall space by 1.5X, guests now have the chance to traverse Athletic Forest, a mind-bending space where you test your coordination and agility, Catching and Collecting Extinct Forest, where visitors can digitally capture extinct animals, learning about their characteristics along the way. Future Park is where you can let your imagination run wild, with the option to draw your own works inspired by the surrounding images.
In the fall, teamLab Planet’s annual “Drawing on the Water Surface Created by the Dance of Koi and People – Infinity” is updated to feature autumn blooms and foliage inspired by the season. You’ll also see the artworks that have been there since the beginning and made teamLab Planets such a popular destination, like “The Infinite Crystal Universe” in which light dots are used to create three-dimensional objects and mimic infinity in the process, or “Waterfall of Light Particles at the Top of an Incline” where guests wade in ankle-deep water, admiring light patterns that have become one with the water.
Yoyogi Park in Tokyo, Japan
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Of course, you’ll also want to spend ample time outdoors to soak up the scarlet leaves of the season and in Tokyo you can view the fall foliage from above at places like Shibuya Sky or Tokyo Skytree. Yoyogi Park is a large forested sanctuary in the heart of the city, perfect for serene walks and learning about Japanese history at the nearby Meiji Shrine. If you want to experience a historic and traditional neighborhood, Asakusa is perfect for a stroll among temples and gates. Along the way you can buy souvenirs like Japanese candy or traditional washi paper, or even invest in a high-quality knife to elevate your cooking.
Four Seasons Tokyo at Otemachi
Where to Stay
It doesn’t get much better than a clear view of Mount Fuji and the Imperial Gardens which is what you’ll wake up to at Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi. Sleek, spacious and centrally located, you can soak up the dazzling skyline from one of their sumptuous bathtubs, swim laps high above the city or sip cocktails at Virtu, rated as one of Asia’s 50 best bars. Try their Smoked Ume Fashioned which is presented tableside, riffing on a classic with sweet notes of Japanese umeshu as smoke billows from your glass. There are multiple restaurants on property with Michelin-starred est offering panoramic views of Tokyo and a sustainable multi-course French menu crafted with the finest Japanese ingredients. Both the food presentation and dining room are strikingly beautiful, and the menu is seasonal, allowing you to sample the fall’s best offerings.
What to Eat and Drink
When you do venture out of your hotel, an innumerable number of outstanding restaurants await — from sushi to yakiniku to ramen, it can be quite overwhelming quite to choose where to dine. If you’re looking for a traditional Japanese Kaiseki dining experience, one that isn’t all over social media but instead beloved by locals, head to KITAOHJI Yaesu Saryo where you’ll enjoy dishes like beef sukiyaki in a private room with tatami seating. Open for 80 years, this restaurant is the ideal backdrop for an intimate group dinner to mingle over sake and sashimi. On the opposite end you have Cedros, a cool counter-setting restaurant that serves sea-to-table cuisine, helmed by Californian brothers Lui and Yui Shirako. Chat with the friendly and funny staff as the food is prepared in front of you, diving into the season’s best ingredients. The menu blends multiple cuisines into memorable bites, for example, a seabream ceviche tostada with salsa macha and uni combines South American flavors with Tokyo’s world-class seafood offerings.
For drinks, Tokyo Confidential is a cheeky cocktail spot that “celebrates high contrasts and delightful chaos” as its motto. With spectacular views of the Tokyo Tower, you’ll sample unique creations like their Only Fans cocktail made with vanilla vodka, Okinawan citrus, passionfruit, shōchū and champagne — reminiscent of a porn star martini with a pop culture spin. Another must-visit cocktail bar is SG Club, also featured on Asia’s 50 Best Bars list. Make a reservation in advance for the dimly lit, sexy Sip floor of this three-story mixology palace where Ryota Tokumitsu whips up drinks like Charlie Brown Loves Wagyu served with, you guessed it, a slice of dried beef or a Cold Soba Negroni.
In 2025 Japan saw a record number of tourists, particularly in the first half of the year and early 2026 is expected to see even more. Hit the sweet spot of mild weather and no cherry blossom crowds with a fall visit to Japan’s capital to immerse yourself in experiential art, Japanese cuisine and the fall foliage draping the city in rich, golden and scarlet hues.
AloJapan.com