Travel calendar
When to go to Japan
Pick a month to see what each island is like - the weather, events and how busy and pricey it gets.
The whole year in one table
| Month | Honshu | Hokkaido | Kyushu | Shikoku | Okinawa | Nanpō | What's on | Crowds/prices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Cold, dry (2–10°C) | Frost, snow | Mild (6–12°C) | Mild, dry | Warm (15–20°C) | Mild, oceanic; whales | Hokkaido ski season; New Year | ●●● |
| February | Cold (3–11°C) | Sapporo Snow Festival | Mild | Cool but mild | Warm | Mild; whale season | Skiing; plum blossoms begin | ●●● |
| March | Cool → warm | Late winter | Warm | Spring-like, warming up | Warm | Pleasant, warming up | Late March: cherry blossom begins (south) | ●●● |
| April | Spring (10–19°C) | Cool, snow melting | Warm | Warm, cherries in bloom | Warm, swimming begins | Warm, the sea is warming | Peak cherry blossom | ●●● |
| May | Pleasant (15–23°C) | Spring | Warm | Pleasant, sunny | Hot | Warm, good diving | Golden Week (holidays, crowds!) | ●●● |
| June | Rainy season, muggy | Dry, pleasant | Rainy season | Rainy season | Early typhoons | Humid, milder than the mainland | Hydrangeas; wet | ●●● |
| July | Hot, muggy (26–31°C) | Cooler, lavender | Hot, humid | Hot, humid | Hot, typhoons | Hot, crystal-clear sea; typhoons | Festivals, fireworks | ●●● |
| August | Heat (27–32°C) | Pleasant | Heat | Heat, muggy | Heat, typhoons | Heat; peak typhoon season | Obon, Awa Odori | ●●● |
| September | Warm, typhoons | Early autumn | Typhoons | Warm, possible typhoons | Typhoons easing | Warm, easing typhoons | End of the heat | ●●● |
| October | Ideal (15–23°C) | Golden autumn | Pleasant | Pleasant, sunny | Warm, fewer typhoons | Pleasant, the sea still warm | Maples begin (north) | ●●● |
| November | Maples! (10–18°C) | Cold | Pleasant | Mild, maples | Warm | Mild, calm | Peak crimson maples | ●●● |
| December | Cold, dry | Snow, ski season starts | Mild | Mild, dry | Warm | Mild; whale season begins | Illuminations, start of ski season | ●●● |
Most beautiful
April (cherry blossom) and November (maples) - stunning, but crowded and pricey.
Best value
Late October and May (outside Golden Week) - good weather, fewer crowds.
Avoid if you can
The rainy season (June), peak typhoons (Aug–Sep in the south), and Golden Week and Obon.