When to visit Japan: climate by month and the 2026-27 holidays

Each city has its own driest and wettest stretch, read from the table above.

• Tokyo. December to February averages 5.4 to 7.7 °C and is the driest stretch, at 57 to 60 mm a month. September and October are the wettest months, at 225 and 235 mm. See Tokyo and Kanto.
• Osaka and Kyoto. Kyoto is the coldest of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto in January, at 4.8 °C. Rain peaks in June and July in both: 185 and 174 mm in Osaka, 200 and 224 mm in Kyoto. See Kansai.
• Sapporo. Averages stay below 0 °C from December to February. April to June is the driest stretch, at 55 to 60 mm a month. For snow planning, read Hokkaido and the Japow hub.
• Fukuoka. June and July are the wettest months, at 250 and 299 mm. January and February average 6.9 and 7.8 °C. See Kyushu.
• Naha. The average stays between 17.3 and 19.1 °C from December to March, and July and August are 29.1 and 29.0 °C. May, June and September are the wettest months, at 245, 284 and 275 mm. See Okinawa.

Across Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, July and August average 25.7 to 29.0 °C. April, May, October and November average 12.5 to 20.1 °C.

In January the spread runs from -3.2 °C in Sapporo to 17.3 °C in Naha, a gap of 20.5 degrees. In July and August Sapporo is the cool choice, at 21.1 and 22.3 °C against 25.7 to 29.1 °C in the other five. From December to March Naha is the warm choice, at 17.3 to 19.1 °C, and no other city in the table averages above 10.8 °C in those months.

On rain, the lowest monthly figure in the table is Osaka in January, at 47 mm, and the highest is Fukuoka in July, at 299 mm. Within Tokyo, November is much drier than October, at 96 mm against 235 mm, while April and May are close to each other, at 134 and 140 mm.

The Year row gives the annual picture. Naha is the warmest and wettest, at 23.3 °C and 2,161 mm. Sapporo is the coolest and has the least rain, at 9.2 °C and 1,146 mm. Fukuoka has the highest total outside Naha, at 1,687 mm.

The holidays fall on Thursday 29 April and Monday 3 to Wednesday 5 May. Golden Week is a nickname that is not on the Cabinet Office list, so read it as around 29 April to 5 May. Friday 30 April is not on the list.

There is no Silver Week run in 2027. Silver Week is a nickname, not an official term. In 2026 it formed because the holidays on 21, 22 (a substitute) and 23 September joined a weekend into 19 to 23 September. In 2027 the September holidays are 20 and 23 September, with no run between them.

Obon, in mid-August, is not an official holiday, but JNTO describes it as a family holiday period when many people travel. 1 January is a national holiday, and JNTO says closures around it last several days. New Year closures lists what shuts.

To verify Peak tourist months and typhoon statistics are not on the official pages read. Check the Japan Meteorological Agency for rainy season and typhoon information, and JNTO for peak months, close to your dates.

Check trains and rooms for 29 April and 3 to 5 May 2027 before you fix dates, because these are national holidays. For the border steps and airport links, read Entering Japan and Airport transfers in Japan. More planning pages are in the Plan hub.