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Two moments carry the month, both visual and both about being looked at — three- and five- and seven-year-olds dragged to shrines for shichi-go-san, and the autumn color peaking through Kyoto and Tokyo. The rest of November is run by the year's longest stretch of high-pressure dry sunny days, which deserves its own kind of attention.
November 2026
Dates for 2026
November 14
Nov 15 (or nearest weekend) · Tradition
Shrine visits for children turning three, five, and seven. Tiny formal kimono and hakama, candy in long red-and-white paper bags called chitose-ame, family photos at the shrine gate. The actual date is the 15th but most families do the nearest weekend. Photo studios start booking out in September; rental kimono shops run their busiest week of the year.
Nov 15 (or nearest weekend) · Tradition
Shrine visits for children turning three, five, and seven. Tiny formal kimono and hakama, candy in long red-and-white paper bags called chitose-ame, family photos at the shrine gate. The actual date is the 15th but most families do the nearest weekend. Photo studios start booking out in September; rental kimono shops run their busiest week of the year.
Mid-late Nov · Nature
Autumn color reaches the central cities. Kyoto's temple gardens — Tōfuku-ji, Kiyomizu-dera, Eikan-dō — go from green to red in about two weeks. Night light-ups at the major temples sell timed entry tickets that book out a month in advance. Tokyo is later and less concentrated: Rikugien, Meiji Jingū Gaien (the ginkgo avenue), Mt. Takao for a day hike.