Dec – Feb · 2026–27

Winter 冬

Snow country, hot springs, crab and the clearest skies of the year on the Pacific side. Plum opens from Kyushu to Tokyo before the cold has left the north.

Where to beThe Japan Sea coast for snow and crab; Tokyo for clear-sky views of Fuji; Kyushu for the first plum.

Pros, cons and winter month by month

Phenomena · on average

Plum blossom 梅25 JAN – 15 MAR
Autumn foliage 紅葉25 SEP – 15 DEC
Mount Fuji views 富士山01 NOV – 28 FEB
Snow 雪景色24 NOV – 23 MAR

The season words of winter are still being drawn

Recommended places

Autumn 2026 秋Photo · くろふね · CC BY-SA 4.0Kyoto — Autumn foliage · 10 NOV – 06 DEC · peak 25 NOVKitano Tenmangu北野天満宮350 maples on Hideyoshi’s rampart above the Kamiya riverNational Treasure · Historic SiteDays until the season
10 NOV – 06 DEC · Nature · Autumn foliage

Autumn foliage — Kitano Tenmangu 北野天満宮

Kyoto
The head shrine of Tenjin, the deified scholar Sugawara no Michizane, whose flower is the plum: about 1,500 trees of 50 varieties flower here from January to late March. On 25 February, the day of his death, geiko and maiko of the neighbouring Kamishichiken district serve tea in the open air at the Baikasai. In autumn the shrine opens its maple garden on the Odoi, the earth rampart Hideyoshi raised round the city in 1591: about 350 maples above the Kamiya river.
Dates
10 NOV – 06 DEC

Where
KyotoGoogle Maps

Open
Precinct open daily, free · plum garden in 2026: 1 Feb – 24 May, 9:00–20:30 · maple garden 31 Oct – 6 Dec 2026, 9:00–16:00, lit from mid-November until 20:00

Survive
On the 25th of every month the Tenjin-san flea market fills the approaches: come for it or avoid it. In 2026 the plum garden cost ¥3,000 and was lit every evening; the maple garden is ¥1,500 with tea and a sweet.

Holidays
Labour Thanksgiving Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access
City bus to Kitano Tenmangu-mae, about 30 min from Kyoto Stn; or the Randen tram to Kitano-Hakubaicho, then 5 min on foot.

Heritage
National Treasure · main halls 北野天満宮本殿・石の間・拝殿・楽の間国宝Historic Site · the Odoi earthwork of the maple garden, 1930 御土居史跡

Source
Official site Autumn foliage page · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

4 photos · credits

くろふね · CC BY-SA 4.0
pcs34560 · Public domain
Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert · CC BY-SA 4.0
Tmv · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo · Bariston · CC BY-SA 4.0Aichi — Autumn foliage · 15 NOV – 05 DEC · peak 25 NOVKorankei Gorge香嵐渓4,000 maples of eleven varieties, turning in layersDays until the season
15 NOV – 05 DEC · Nature · Autumn foliage

Autumn foliage — Korankei Gorge 香嵐渓

Aichi
4,000 maples planted by the monk San'ei around 1634 as an offering along the path to the temple. Eleven different varieties, so the slope turns colour in layers rather than all at once.
Dates
15 NOV – 05 DEC

Where
AichiGoogle Maps

Open
Open at all hours, free · maples lit 1–30 November, from sunset to 21:00 · car park ¥1,000

Survive
Lit until 21:00 throughout November. The approach road gridlocks at weekends — come by bus or on a weekday.

Holidays
Labour Thanksgiving Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access
45 min by bus from Meitetsu Toyota-shi Stn.

Source
Official site Autumn foliage page · checked 2026-09-22

Photos

3 photos · credits

Bariston · CC BY-SA 4.0
T.Takida · CC BY 3.0
Bariston · CC BY-SA 4.0
Winter 2026–27 冬Photo · 経済特区 · CC BY-SA 4.0Kyoto — Snow · 20 JAN – 25 FEB · peak 01 FEBMiyama Kayabuki-no-Sato美山かやぶきの里A thatched hamlet under snow, lanterns on eight winter eveningsPreservation districtDays until the season
20 JAN – 25 FEB · Nature · Snow

Snow — Miyama Kayabuki-no-Sato 美山かやぶきの里

Kyoto
A farming hamlet in the mountains north of Kyoto where 39 of the 50 houses keep their thatched roofs, a national preservation district since 1993. Under snow, from late January through February, it is the old countryside intact. For the eight evenings of the winter lantern festival, 30 January – 6 February in 2027, the lanes and houses are lit from 17:00 to 19:00 with about 80 paper lanterns and 200 more.
Dates
20 JAN – 25 FEB

Where
KyotoGoogle Maps

Open
Village open at all hours, free · lantern festival 30 Jan – 6 Feb 2027, lit 17:00–19:00

Survive
During the lantern festival every car needs a parking reservation made in advance, on all days. Snow tyres are required on the road in. The winter fireworks of earlier years are not held.

Holidays
National Foundation Day, Emperor's Birthday · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access
About 80 min by car from Kyoto. By public transport, the JR Sagano Line to Hiyoshi and then the Nantan city bus to Kita; check the last bus back before you go.

Heritage
Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings · 1993 南丹市美山町北重要伝統的建造物群保存地区

Source
Official site Snow page · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

2 photos · credits

経済特区 · CC BY-SA 4.0
経済特区 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo · そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0Fukuoka — Plum blossom · 25 JAN – 10 MAR · peak 20 FEBDazaifu Tenmangu太宰府天満宮6,000 plum trees at the grave of Tenjin, from late JanuaryImportant Cultural PropertyDays until the season
25 JAN – 10 MAR · Nature · Plum blossom

Plum blossom — Dazaifu Tenmangu 太宰府天満宮

Fukuoka
The shrine built over the grave of Sugawara no Michizane, the exiled scholar worshipped as Tenjin, whose flower is the plum: about 6,000 trees of 200 varieties flower in the grounds from late January to early March. The first to open is the Tobiume to the right of the main hall, the tree said to have flown from Kyoto in one night to follow him. The main hall reopened for worship in September 2026 after a restoration of three and a half years, its first in 124 years, and 2027 brings the grand festival held once in 25 years, 1,125 years after his death; its dates are not published yet.
Dates
25 JAN – 10 MAR

Where
FukuokaGoogle Maps

Open
Gates open 6:30 from the autumn equinox and 6:00 from the spring equinox · close 18:30 Dec–Mar, 19:00 Apr–May and Sep–Nov, 19:30 Jun–Aug · free

Survive
Heavy. January and February are exam season, and Tenjin is the god of learning: at weekends the approach is packed from the station to the hall. Come at gate opening, 6:30 in winter, and see the plums before the crowd arrives.

Holidays
National Foundation Day, Emperor's Birthday · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access
Nishitetsu from Fukuoka (Tenjin) with a change at Futsukaichi, about 35 min, then 5 min on foot from Dazaifu Stn. The direct bus Tabito takes about 45 min from Hakata Bus Terminal and about 25 min from the international terminal of Fukuoka Airport.

Heritage
Important Cultural Property · main hall, 1907 太宰府天満宮本殿重要文化財

Source
Official site · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

3 photos · credits

そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0
酒呑みおやぢ · CC BY-SA 3.0
そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo · kkawamura · CC BY 4.0Hokkaido — Snow · 04 FEB – 15 MAR · peak 20 FEBAbashiri drift ice網走の流氷Drift ice from the Amur, and an icebreaker that rides up onto itDays until the season
04 FEB – 15 MAR · Nature · Snow

Snow — Abashiri drift ice 網走の流氷

Hokkaido
The Sea of Okhotsk is the southernmost sea in the northern hemisphere to freeze: ice born off the Amur estuary drifts about a thousand kilometres south and reaches this coast around the start of February. The icebreaker Aurora rides up onto the floes and breaks them under its own weight, on a cruise of about an hour.
Dates
04 FEB – 15 MAR

Where
HokkaidoGoogle Maps

Open
Sails daily 20 Jan – 31 Mar, three to five departures between 9:00 and 15:30, about 1 h · ¥7,000, children ¥3,500 at last season’s fares; 2027 fares not yet posted

Survive
Wind can push the ice offshore overnight, so allow two days. The normal dates for 1991–2020 are 22 Jan for the first ice on the horizon and 4 Feb for ice at the shore. A sailing with 15 bookings or fewer may be cancelled: reserve ahead.

Holidays
National Foundation Day, Emperor's Birthday · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Access
The Aurora sails from the Ryuhyo Kaido Abashiri roadside station, 10 min by bus from JR Abashiri Stn.

Source
Official site Snow page · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

2 photos · credits

kkawamura · CC BY 4.0
Lkj12344321 · CC BY-SA 4.0

All 12 windows in our notes, in the order they open

Autumn foliage at Akizuki castle town, Fukuoka20 NOV – 07 DEC · peak 28 Nov
Autumn foliage at Kitano Tenmangu, Kyoto10 NOV – 06 DEC · peak 25 Nov
Autumn foliage at Korankei Gorge, Aichi15 NOV – 05 DEC · peak 25 Nov
Autumn foliage at Minoo Park, Osaka15 NOV – 05 DEC · peak 25 Nov · heavy
Autumn foliage at Mount Takao, Tokyo15 NOV – 05 DEC · peak 25 Nov · heavy
Mount Fuji views at Mount Takao, Tokyo17–28 DEC · peak 22 Dec
Snow at Miyama Kayabuki-no-Sato, Kyoto20 JAN – 25 FEB · peak 1 Feb
Plum blossom at Dazaifu Tenmangu, Fukuoka25 JAN – 10 MAR · peak 20 Feb · heavy
Plum blossom at Kitano Tenmangu, Kyoto01 FEB – 25 MAR · peak 25 Feb
Plum blossom at Osaka Castle Park, Osaka01 FEB – 10 MAR · peak 20 Feb
Snow at Abashiri drift ice, Hokkaido04 FEB – 15 MAR · peak 20 Feb
Plum blossom at Yushima Tenjin, Tokyo08 FEB – 08 MAR · peak 22 Feb

Recommended events · winter 2026–27

Winter 2026–27 冬 68Show Days until the event 1 – 24 DEC · KYOTO Kaomise kabuki at Minamiza The December run in which kabuki’s leading actors of east and west appear together UNESCO heritage Photo · Conveyor belt sushi · CC BY 2.0
1–24 Dec · Show

Kaomise kabuki at Minamiza 吉例顔見世興行

Minamiza, Shijo, Kyoto
Kaomise, face-showing, is the December run in which the leading actors of Tokyo and Osaka kabuki share one bill at Minamiza, the theatre beside the Kamo river on the ground where kabuki began. From late November the facade carries the maneki, wooden boards with each actor’s name brushed in thick black script, which Kyoto reads as the start of winter.
Dates
1–24 Dec

Where
Minamiza, Shijo, KyotoGoogle Maps

Tickets
Seat prices, closed days and the general sale date are posted by Shochiku; its members’ pre-sale comes first.

Heritage
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage · kabuki, 2008 歌舞伎（ユネスコ無形文化遺産代表一覧表）

Source
Official site · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

2 photos · credits

Conveyor belt sushi · CC BY 2.0
Asturio Cantabrio · CC BY-SA 4.0
105Matsuri Days until the event 7 JAN · FUKUOKA Oniyo fire festival Six giant torches carried round a shrine by hundreds of men on a January night National folk heritage Photo · Pontafon · CC BY-SA 3.0
7 Jan · Matsuri

Oniyo fire festival 鬼夜

Daizenji Tamataregu, Kurume, Fukuoka
A rite of driving out demons held on the night of 7 January for more than 1,600 years, counted among Japan’s three great fire festivals and a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property since 1994. Several hundred young men in loincloths raise six torches, each 13 metres long, a metre across at the head and 1.2 tonnes, and carry them burning round the precinct.
Dates
7 Jan

Where
Daizenji Tamataregu, Kurume, FukuokaGoogle Maps

Open
Rites from 13:00 · in 2026 the great torches were lit about 20:40 and the night ended about 23:10 · the 2027 timetable is not published yet

Tickets
Free, held rain or shine. Daizenji Stn on the Nishitetsu Tenjin–Omuta Line, 5 min on foot.

Heritage
Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property · 1994 大善寺玉垂宮の鬼夜

Source
Official site · checked 2026-09-20

Photos

2 photos · credits

Pontafon · CC BY-SA 3.0
STA3816 · CC BY-SA 4.0
107Matsuri Days until the event 9 – 11 JAN · OSAKA Toka Ebisu A million people come for a lucky bamboo branch for the year’s trade Photo · Mixtribe Photo · CC BY 2.0
9–11 Jan · Matsuri

Toka Ebisu 十日戎

Imamiya Ebisu Shrine, Naniwa, Osaka
The New Year rite of merchant Osaka: over three days about a million people come to the shrine of Ebisu, god of trade, for a fukuzasa, a bamboo branch given out free, and have the fuku-musume, shrine maidens chosen each year, hang paid charms on it. On the 10th the Hoekago procession of decorated palanquins brings geisha, kabuki actors and bunraku puppets to the shrine.
Dates
9–11 Jan

Where
Imamiya Ebisu Shrine, Naniwa, OsakaGoogle Maps

Open
In 2026 branches were given out 7:00–1:00 on all three days, with the fuku-musume on duty 9:00–21:00Sun 10 Jan · Main day, with the Hoekago palanquin procession to the shrine

Tickets
Free to enter; you pay for the charms hung on the branch. The 10th is the most crowded day.

Holidays
Coming of Age Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Source
Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

3 photos · credits

Mixtribe Photo · CC BY 2.0
Ogiyoshisan · CC BY-SA 3.0
Mixtribe Photo · CC BY 2.0
133Matsuri Days until the event 4 – 11 FEB · HOKKAIDO Sapporo Snow Festival Snow statues the size of buildings along Odori Park, in its 77th year Photo · t-konno · CC BY-SA 3.0
4–11 Feb · Matsuri

Sapporo Snow Festival さっぽろ雪まつり

Odori Park, Susukino and Tsudome, Sapporo, Hokkaido
It began in 1950, when local school pupils set up six snow statues in Odori Park; the 2026 edition drew 2.54 million people. The Odori site lines the park with snow statues the size of buildings, several raised by the Ground Self-Defense Force, which has taken part since 1955. Susukino, a site since 1983, has the ice carvings, and Tsudome the snow slides.
Dates
4–11 Feb

Where
Odori Park, Susukino and Tsudome, Sapporo, HokkaidoGoogle Maps

Open
Open every day · Odori Park statues lit until 22:00

Tickets
Free at all three sites. Sapporo’s hotels sell out for the week: book in autumn. Site hours for 2027 are published from mid-December.

Holidays
National Foundation Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Source
Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

3 photos · credits

t-konno · CC BY-SA 3.0
京浜にけ · CC BY-SA 3.0
Materialscientist · CC BY-SA 3.0
135Light-up Days until the event 6 – 13 FEB · HOKKAIDO Otaru Snow Light Path Candles in the snow along the Otaru Canal, lit by volunteers each evening Photo · t-konno · CC BY-SA 3.0
6–13 Feb · Light-up

Otaru Snow Light Path 小樽雪あかりの路

Otaru Canal area, Hokkaido
Candles set in snow lanterns along the canal and the old railway line, lit by hand each evening by volunteers, many of whom travel from Korea, China and Taiwan for the week. It started in 1999 and takes its name from a 1926 poetry collection by Ito Sei, who grew up in Otaru. The 29th edition overlaps the Sapporo Snow Festival on 6–11 February, and Otaru is about 35 min from Sapporo by rapid train.
Dates
6–13 Feb

Where
Otaru Canal area, HokkaidoGoogle Maps

Tickets
Free. Venues and lighting hours for 2027 are not announced yet; in past years the candles burned from 17:00 to 21:00.

Holidays
National Foundation Day · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels

Source
Official site · checked 2026-09-19

Photos

2 photos · credits

t-konno · CC BY-SA 3.0
t-konno · CC BY-SA 3.0

All 15 events with dates in winter 2026–27

Shojo Manga Infinity: Moto Hagio, Ryoko Yamagishi, Waki Yamato, TokyoExhibition · 28 Oct – 8 FebOver 800 original drawings by three authors who remade girls’ manga in the 1970s
The World of Resident Evil — 30th Anniversary Exhibition, TokyoExhibition · 30 Oct – 24 DecThe first large-scale Resident Evil show: sets, artwork and life-size villains
Special Opening of Non-Public Cultural Properties, KyotoExhibition · 30 Oct – 6 DecThirty-two halls, gates and treasures that are normally closed
Himiko’s Mirrors, FukuokaExhibition · 31 Oct – 11 JanThe bronze mirrors tied to Queen Himiko and the making of the Yamato state
Itoshima oyster huts, FukuokaFood season · 1 Nov – 31 MarWinter on the Itoshima coast: oysters grilled at your own table in the fishermen’s huts
Kaomise kabuki at Minamiza, KyotoShow · 1–24 DecThe December run in which kabuki’s leading actors of east and west appear together
Setagaya Boroichi, TokyoMarket · 15–16 DecA flea market held on the same four days every winter since 1578
Bunraku, New Year programme, OsakaShow · 3–24 JanThe New Year run of puppet theatre on its home stage
Oniyo fire festival, FukuokaMatsuri · 7 JanSix giant torches carried round a shrine by hundreds of men on a January night
Toka Ebisu, OsakaMatsuri · 9–11 JanA million people come for a lucky bamboo branch for the year’s trade
Setagaya Boroichi, TokyoMarket · 15–16 JanA flea market held on the same four days every winter since 1578
Sapporo International Art Festival 2027, HokkaidoArt · 16 Jan – 21 FebSapporo’s art triennale, held in midwinter under the theme Planet Snow
Sapporo Snow Festival, HokkaidoMatsuri · 4–11 FebSnow statues the size of buildings along Odori Park, in its 77th year
Otaru Snow Light Path, HokkaidoLight-up · 6–13 FebCandles in the snow along the Otaru Canal, lit by volunteers each evening
Yanagawa Sagemon Meguri, FukuokaMatsuri · 11 Feb – 3 AprThe canal town hangs out its girls’ festival ornaments for 52 days

Check winter against your own dates