When to go to Japan: the best time, region by region

There is no best time for all of Japan, there is a best time for each region. Hokkaidō is visited from June to September, and it is in July and August, at the heart of that window, that Kyoto is stifling. Kyoto is best visited in May and October, two months that fall outside Hokkaidō’s window. And Kyūshū is one to avoid in August and September, in the middle of the typhoon season. Choosing the month therefore means choosing the region first.

The country stretches from Cape Sōya, facing Sakhalin, to the subtropical islands of Okinawa, where it is 16 °C (61 °F) in January. Of the twelve stages we have sequenced to cover Japan, only two declare themselves doable all year round: Tokyo with the Kantō, and the Nagoya, Fuji and Hakone stage. The other ten have a window, sometimes a narrow one.

Climate and best months, region by region

This table gives, for each of our stages, the months chosen in our travel books and product pages, and what closes the door the rest of the year.

Region	Recommended months	Avoid	Why
Hokkaidō	June to September	October to May	Passes of Shiretoko and the Daisetsuzan clear only from late May or June
Tōhoku	June to October	November to April	High roads of the Hakkōda, the Zaō and the Azuma closed in winter
Nikkō, the Alps and Hokuriku	Late April to early November	Mid-November to mid-April	Kamikōchi and the alpine route closed, like most mountain roads
Tokyo and the Kantō	All year round	July and August	Very heavy summer, 33 °C (91 °F) and high humidity
Nagoya, Fuji and Hakone	All year round	July and August	Humid heat on the coast, Fuji often hidden
Kyoto	May and October first, March to May and October to November	July and August	City in a basin, 35 °C; cold and damp in January
Nara and Yoshino	April, May, October, November	Summer	Nara in a basin like Kyoto
Western Kansai	March to May, October and November	Late August to October on the Kii coast	Typhoons; Mount Kōya ten degrees colder than the plain, snow in winter
San’in and Setouchi	May, June and October	Winter on the San’in coast	Gray, rainy coast, snow at Kinosaki and Tottori; the Inland Sea is good all year round
Shikoku	April, May and November	Late August to October	Pacific coast: the wettest in Japan and very exposed to typhoons; the Inland Sea, to the north, stays dry
Kyūshū	April, May, October, November	June and July, then August and September	Rainy season, then the peak of the typhoons
Yakushima and Okinawa	April, May and November	June to October	Rain from May to June, typhoons from July to October with a peak in September

Watch out: mountain road closures are decided each year according to the snowfall. The windows above are those of our travel books at the time of writing, in September 2026: check the opening dates on the official websites of the alpine route and of Kamikōchi before you book.

Japan in summer: the north and the mountains, certainly not the south

The table reads almost symmetrically. The further north or the higher you go, the more the season narrows down to summer. The further south you go, the more summer becomes the season to avoid.

Hokkaidō largely escapes the rainy season of the rest of Japan. Its summers stay mild, 20 to 26 °C (68 to 79 °F), with cool nights in the mountains: it is the natural escape in June, when Kyūshū and Okinawa are under water. The Furano lavender flowers there from mid-July to early August, and climbing Rishiri-Fuji is only sensible from mid-June to September. We covered the island in detail in How many days do you need for Hokkaidō?.

The Alps follow the same logic, with a delay. Kamikōchi is closed from mid-November to mid-April, the Tateyama-Kurobe alpine route from late November to mid-April. When it reopens, snowploughs carve a corridor between two walls of snow fifteen to twenty meters high, walkable until June. July and August remain the months for Kamikōchi and the high plateaus. In the Tōhoku, the Gassan can only be hiked in July and August.

Cherry blossoms and maples: what the two peak seasons cost

Cherry blossoms and maples are the two reasons people go to Japan on a precise date. They are also the two busiest peaks of the year.

• The cherry trees blossom in Tokyo and Kyoto from late March to early April, and at Hirosaki, in the Tōhoku, in late April. Those of Yoshino, early to mid-April, are the absolute peak: mountain saturated, accommodation fully booked six months ahead, road access regulated.
• The maples travel the opposite way, from north to south: from mid-September in the Daisetsuzan, mid-October in the Tōhoku, from mid-November to early December in Kyoto. Place by place: following the kōyō from north to south.

In Kyoto, the travel book says it plainly: during these two peaks, accommodation doubles in price. It names May and October as the best compromises, outside both peaks and outside the summer heat.

Tip: if the blossoms or the leaves matter to you, book very early; the list of what goes first is in What to book in advance for a trip to Japan, and when.

Going to Japan in September: the south under the typhoons

This is the point that catches out the most travelers, because September looks like a good idea seen from home. In Japan, it is the heart of the typhoon season, from late August to October on Shikoku, the Kii coast and the Kantō, in August and September on Kyūshū, and from July to October with a peak in September on Okinawa.

The consequences are not just rain. On the Pacific coast of Shikoku, mountain roads close because of landslides and the island ferries are canceled. On Okinawa and Yakushima, flights and ferries are regularly dropped.

Watch out: a tight itinerary does not recover from it. From July to October, never put a short international connection after a flight from Yakushima or a ferry from Okinawa: they are the first to be canceled.

September, on the other hand, remains a good month for Hokkaidō and the Tōhoku, which our travel books do not class as typhoon areas. That is what justifies heading north at this time of year and keeping the south for later.

And Japan in winter?

Winter closes the mountains, but not the whole country. Kyūshū is mild in winter, so is Okinawa, and Tokyo as well as the Fuji area (our guide) remain doable: December brings the Roppongi illuminations. On the San’in coast, winter is the snow crab season at Kinosaki, from November to March, in exchange for snow and an often gray sky. If that coast appeals to you outside winter, we talk about it in The San’in coast and Shikoku: Japan without the crowds.

On the other hand, from December to March forget the high Tōhoku, the Alps, Kamikōchi and most of Hokkaidō as our itineraries cover it.

For a three-month trip, the order matters more than the month

On a long stay, you no longer choose a season, you choose a direction of travel. Ninety days, the limit of a visa-free tourist stay, are enough to cross several calendars.

To go down from north to south, leave in September: Hokkaidō and the Tōhoku in their colors, the alpine roads still open, then Fuji clear of cloud and the south in a mild winter. The same route started in June would end in the typhoons. This is the calendar of our Japan from north to south in 88 days.

For the west and the islands, Kyoto and Nara then Shikoku and Kyūshū, a departure in October or November unrolls the trip through autumn and then a mild winter, away from the June rainy season and the August and September typhoons on Kyūshū. Our Japan of the west and the islands in 86 days follows this calendar.

So, when should you go to Japan?

• June to September: Hokkaidō, the Tōhoku, the Alps. Avoid the south and the cities of the plain.
• April-May and October-November: Kyoto, Nara, the Kansai, Kyūshū, and Shikoku in April, May and November. It is the most open season, and the most expensive at cherry blossom and maple time.
• December to March: Tokyo, Fuji, Kyūshū and the subtropical south.
• Late August to October: the north rather than the south, Hokkaidō until September, the Tōhoku until October.

If you are still hesitating, start from the region that draws you, then read its row in the table. For Kyoto alone, our 14-day itinerary is set for May or October; for the mountains, the Nikkō, Alps and Hokuriku stage only works from late April to early November. All the other regions are on the Japan page.

To pick the region before the season, see what to see in Japan, which compares the regions one by one.