Feedback on Fall 2023 Koyo Itinerary Dates

Hi,

I am hoping to visit Japan in the Fall for Koyo. I used Japan Guide's Koyo section to help plan the dates, but there seem to be some mismatch when compared to the 2022 Fall Forecast that was released in September (like Japan guide saying Fall colors in Tohoku around late October to early November, but forecast showed Sendai as having fall colors in late November (25th). Or that Kyoto have fall colors starting mid November according to the Japan guide page, but then someone who went to Japan last year told me that Kyoto was starting to be barren at the beginning of November. So I would like feedback to help establish the date range of the trip.

Places I'm most interested in seeing fall color leaves: Lake Towada, Nikko, Mt. Fuji and Hakone, Obara park with the shikizakura and autumn colors, and Kyoto and Uji

Rough date range for the Itinerary: October 22- November 17th:

Oct. 22- Arrive into Tokyo

Oct 23- Tokyo to Aomori

Oct 24- Aomori to Lake Towada (bus runs through early November too right? If so, I could probably push start date a week later to make dates match up better elsewhere with the fall colors?)

Oct 25- Aomori to Sendai

Oct 26- Matsushima Day Trip

Oct 27- Sendai to Tokyo

Oct 28- 29 Nikko 2 Days 1 night (back to Tokyo on 29th)- too early or late for Fall color?

Oct 30- Kamakura Day Trip- back to Tokyo

Oct 31- Yugawara Onsen

Nov 1-2 Nagoya with a day trip to Obara Fureai Park in Aichi for Sakura and Fall color (too early?)

Nov 3- Ise Shrine Day Trip (stay in Nagoya

Nov 4- Osaka with a stop at Hikone

Nov 5- Osaka

Nov 6- Kobe then to Kyoto

Nov 7-11- Kyoto with a day trip at Uji (would love to see fall colors)

Nov 12- Kyoto to Tokyo

Nov 13- Hakone Day trip following Japan Guide's youtube video plan- Would love to seek Fall Color

Nov 14-15- Mt. Fuji- Lake Kawaguchi 2 Days 1 night

Nov 16-18 Tokyo and Narita

Would it be better to delay the trip by a week and arrive to Tokyo on the 29th to better see fall colors at Lake Towada, Nikko, Mt. Fuji, Obara in Aichi, and Kyoto (Can only arrive on Sundays so I won't use vacation time on airplane )? And if I were to do that, would I need to move around some of the places like Mt. Fuji in my itinerary to see the fall colors optimally?

I could also just delete Aomori and Lake Towada from the trip since they are kinda far away and just focus on going to Tokyo on the 29th, and spend the 30th and 31st in Nikko, then go to Sendai and then keep the trip roughly the same but move Fuji and Hakone if is better to see them in early to mid November instead of the last week that starts on the 20th of November.

Sorry for the long post, but I would greatly appreciate your insight.

Tohoku is a huge area with a lot of mountains so naturally the timing will be very different eg between the mountains around Hachimantai and a city down in a valley like Sendai.
Regarding Kyoto being barren in early November last year, I donft think so. I wasnft in Kyoto in early November but in Osaka in Early DECEMBER, and by then koyo was post peak in Minoh park, but mit too much Post peak.

I had this year my best Koyo close to Odawara at end of November and around Nagano in early November.

http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/2022/11/d2-koyo-at-lake-nojiri....

But koyo is highly variable from year to year, so I think itfs hard to advise if starting a week later or not is better. Just keep your trip flexible and bookings cancellable.

Btw your trip seems hectic at best and you canft expect to have koyo everywhere. Eg you canft have koyo in the mountains around Nikko and expect to have koyo in Kamakura on the pacific coast on the next day.

Thank you for your feedback.

So would it be better for me to push my start date from Oct 22 to Oct 29 and end Nov 25th? or is my date plan relatively okay?

I'm not expecting Koyo everywhere. I only care about Koyo in Lake Towada, Nikko, Mt Fuji and Hakone, Nagoya, and Kyoto and Uji.

Would it be better to cut out Aomori and just focus on the other areas?