Autumn leaves 2026北陸の紅葉

Minutes out of Unazuki you cross the crimson Shin-Yamabiko Bridge, 40 m above the river. Then come the emerald water of Unazuki Lake, the blue Atobiki Bridge 60 m above the steepest part of the valley, and the sheer Nezumigaeshi cliff.

Sit on the right going up and the left coming back. Open Ordinary cars are best for photos; bring a thick jacket, because Keyakidaira is about 10 °C in November.

Keyakidaira reopens, but only the station building, its rooftop deck and the visitor centre. The Okukane Bridge, Hitokui-iwa and the Sarutobikyō path stay closed for repairs, as do the inns up the Babadani valley.

For a stop with a walk, get off at Kanetsuri: the eternal-snow viewpoint and the walk down to the riverbed and its open-air bath open from 1 October, when the river is not high. Every stop at Kanetsuri or Keyakidaira must be at least 20 minutes.

The hot-spring town at the bottom of the line colours last, in mid November, and often holds into late November. Walk the Yamabiko path to the old bridge for the classic view of a torokko crossing the Shin-Yamabiko Bridge.

Stay the night before and take the first train at 08:17, before the day-trippers arrive. Unazuki Onsen guide →

Japan's longest single-span ropeway, 1,710 m with no pylons at all, hangs over the Kurobe valley. In mid to late October you look down on the colour below Daikanbō, with Kurobe Lake beyond.

From Toyama allow 6–7 hours for a Tateyama–Kurobedaira return (¥14,400). Buy web tickets for fixed departure times.

The dam's sightseeing water discharge runs until 15 October, so 10–15 October is the short overlap of spray and first colour.

Shōmyō Falls, 350 m and Japan's tallest, colours from late October: take the falls bus from Tateyama station (about 15 min), then walk 30 min uphill. In November the upper route is often snowy, and Bijodaira and Shōmyō are where the colour is.

About 340 maples, best from mid to late November. The yukitsuri snow ropes go up from 1 November, the Karasaki pine first, so early to mid November gives you both.

Free evening light-ups on 7, 14, 15, 21, 22, 28 and 29 November, 18:00–20:45, with Kanazawa Castle Park lit too. Kenrokuen guide →

The gasshō-zukuri villages colour from late October to mid November. A ¥2,000 one-way bus pass covers Ainokura, Suganuma and Shirakawa-go from Takaoka, and a bus from Shirakawa-go reaches Kanazawa (¥2,800, reserve).

Gokayama guide →

Imori Pond mirrors Mt Myōkō behind yellow maples and birch on a 20-minute flat loop. Naena Falls (55 m) is a 15-minute walk from the road. Both peak late October to early November.

Myōkō guide →