When to Visit Japan

Spring is one of the best times to visit Japan. The weather is lovely, days are warm and sunny and people are enjoying the outdoors after the cold of winter. The end of March also marks the beginning of cherry blossom season with the earliest blooms emerging in warmer southern regions. Over succeeding months, the blossoms travel north finally reaching Hokkaido by the middle of May. This fleeting natural phenomenon is popular with visitors and locals alike, making Japan very busy over this period with hotels filling months in advance so aim to plan your holiday as early as possible. The Takayama Festival takes places in April and is famous for its intricately decorated floats. The first week of May is Golden Week, a popular and busy national holiday.

Over summer nearly all regions experience hot, humid and unsettled weather. The end of May coincides with Japan’s wet season with rain-laden clouds blanketing most of the country. The rains continue throughout June, petering out by the middle of July. If travelling at this time, expect it to be windy and for showers to be short but sharp. Temperatures remain high, peaking in August, and there is a risk of typhoons, and associated wet and windy weather, in September. Hokkaido and the Japanese Alps are the best places to avoid the heat over summer. Mid-July is when the popular Kyoto Matsuri festival takes place whilst Obon, held to honour the dead, occurs either in July or August depending on the lunar calendar.

Autumn is another excellent time to visit Japan – the heat of the summer dissipates, the risk of typhoons has passed and rainfall is minimal. However, the main draw for travelling at this time of year is to experience Japan’s world-famous autumnal colours. Foliage begins to turn in October, transforming the landscape into a kaleidoscope of reds and yellows, oranges and russet browns. November is when the foliage is at its peak and, for many, when Japan is at its most beautiful. Temperatures do cool, however, as November progresses but days remain bright, crisp and sunny. For autumnal colour head to Yoyogi Park, Koishikawa Korakuen and Icho Namiki, with its avenue of ginkgo trees, in Tokyo or the temples of Daigo-ji, Daitoku-ji and Tenryu-ji in Kyoto.

Temperatures lower further at the back end of the year and it remains cool throughout December, January and February. In more northerly locations such as Hokkaido, and also at higher elevations, snowfall is common and can sometimes be heavy. Despite the colder weather, skies remain largely clear, the possibility of rain occurring is low and days will, more often than not, be lovely and sunny. Outside of the very busy New Year period this is an excellent time to travel with many of the more popular cultural sights experiencing far fewer visitors. Shogatsu, Japanese New Year, is the nation’s most important holiday. Businesses close, families gather, visits are made to shrines and special meals, osechi-ryori, eaten.