Japan
Sendai in November
🍁 Autumn (koyo)Cool and some showers.
🎒 Pack: warm jacket for evenings
Why November scores 8.8What goes into the score
How it works- Weather comfort8.3
- !Cool (14°C highs / 6°C lows)
- ✓Comfortable humidity (dew point 5.1°C)
- ✓Mostly dry (~59 mm rain)
- Air quality9.3
- ✓Good (within WHO guideline) (PM2.5 ~9 µg/m³)
- Seasonal hazards9.5
- !Tropical cyclone: Edge of the Western Pacific typhoon season
- Safety baseline9.0
- ·Normal precautions
| Nov | May | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 8.8 Excellent | 9.2 Excellent |
| Season | 🍁 Autumn (koyo) | 🌿 Late spring |
| High / low | 14° / 6° | 20° / 12° |
| Rain | 59 mm | 110 mm |
| Humidity | dew pt 5° | dew pt 11° |
| PM2.5 | 9 µg/m³ | 10 µg/m³ |
Typical-month data: NASA POWER (MERRA-2 reanalysis) 2015–2024 (modelled, not a forecast). Temperatures: Sendai weather-station normals. Rainfall: Sendai weather-station normals (national met service).
Holidays & crowdsNovember 2026
Peak seasonAutumn-leaf season is one of the busiest times of year for visitors. Hotels fill up and the best-known viewing spots get very crowded, so book early and go at sunrise or on weekdays.
- Labor Thanksgiving Day 21–23 Nov · 3 days off in a row
Other public holidays: Culture Day (3 Nov)
National holidays only; regional holidays and school breaks aren't included. Source: holidays (open-source public-holiday calendar).
Nature calendarBlossoms, leaves & seasons in Sendai
- 2026 forecast: Naruko GorgeIn November2026 forecastPeak from ~25 Oct 2026
Last year the peak began 25 Oct. JWA expects most of Japan to be on time or a little later than usual this year.
Source: Japan Weather Association (tenki.jp), forecast 14 Oct 2026
- Autumn leaves: Akiu Great FallsIn NovemberTypical datesUsually late-Oct to early-Nov
Usual peak viewing window for this spot.
- Autumn leaves: Naruko Gorge (day trip)In NovemberTypical datesUsually mid-Oct to early-Nov
Usual peak viewing window for this spot.
- Snowy daysIn NovemberTypical datesSnow likely Nov–Apr (most in Jan: ~21 days)
Average number of days with snowfall at Sendai. About 21 cm of snow falls in an average Jan.
Source: Sendai weather-station normals (national weather service, via Wikipedia climate table)
- Cherry blossom 2026 (what actually happened)2026 actualFirst blooms 31 Mar 2026, full bloom 4 Apr 2026
Observed by JMA at the city's official sample tree. The 2027 forecast isn't out yet: Japanese weather companies such as the Japan Weather Association usually publish the first one in January, and we add it then.
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency
- Cherry blossomTypical datesFirst blooms ~8 Apr, full bloom ~13 Apr
Typical dates (1991–2020 normal). In 2021–2026 first blooms came between 26 Mar and 8 Apr (31 Mar in 2026). Blossoms last about a week after full bloom.
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency
Explore SendaiEvents, sights, food & souvenirs
Check event dates locallySendai is the largest city in Tōhoku, founded by the warlord Date Masamune, known for its tree-lined avenues, beef tongue and the summer Tanabata festival.
Autumn Foliage SeasonAcross Japan
Koyo maple viewing, especially in Kyoto, Nikko and the Japanese Alps.
Coming up later
Sendai Pageant of StarlightDate variesUsually most of December
The avenue's zelkova trees are lit with hundreds of thousands of lights.
Why go: Free and best after dark.
Where: Jōzenji-dōri
DontosaiEvery year14 January every year
New Year decorations are burned in a large bonfire, and men in white make a naked pilgrimage to the shrine.
Why go: Held in the evening and cold; very crowded.
Where: Ōsaki Hachimangū
Aoba MatsuriDate variesUsually the third weekend of May
A festival with decorated floats and the Suzume Odori sparrow dance.
Why go: A good spring festival with less crowding than Tanabata.
Where: Central Sendai, Jōzenji-dōri
Zuihōden
The richly decorated mausoleum of Date Masamune in a cedar forest.
Sendai Castle ruins (Aoba Castle)
The hilltop castle site with stone walls, a statue of Date Masamune on horseback and city views.
Ōsaki Hachimangū
A shrine with a black-lacquered main hall and National Treasure status.
Matsushima Bay
A bay scattered with pine-covered islets, one of Japan's traditional Three Views, about 40 minutes by train.
Akiu Onsen
A hot spring town in the hills west of the city, near Akiu Great Falls.
Jōzenji-dōri
A central avenue lined with zelkova trees, used for many of the city's events.
Gyūtan
Grilled beef tongue, usually served with barley rice and oxtail soup.
💡 Gyūtan restaurants around Sendai station and Kokubunchō
Zunda mochi
Rice cakes topped with sweet mashed edamame paste.
💡 Sweet shops and Sendai station
Sasakamaboko
Leaf-shaped grilled fish cake.
💡 Kamaboko shops and Sendai station
Matsushima oysters
Oysters from Matsushima Bay, served grilled or raw.
💡 Matsushima seafood restaurants
Kokeshi dolls
Turned wooden dolls, a traditional Tōhoku craft with styles from local hot spring towns.
💡 Craft shops and Sendai station
Zunda sweets
Edamame-paste sweets and drinks.
💡 Sendai station shops
Sasakamaboko
Packaged leaf-shaped fish cakes.
💡 Sendai station shops
Tamamushi-nuri
Lacquerware with an iridescent finish developed in Sendai.
💡 Craft shops