Looking forward to traveling to Japan? Knowing when Japan rocks at its highest and equally sucks at its lowest will make your trip more pleasant. Japan, being a four-seasoned country, has different types of events and weather that can make or break your trip. In this handy guide on when to visit (and also know when not to) you will find out why you might not want to visit, seasons or months to consider, the best times for traveling to, or best seasons to take that trip to the land of the rising sun.
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Worst Times to Visit Japan
Although Japan is a great place to visit at any time of the year, there are periods when you might want to reconsider the timing of your trip – whether it’s because of crowds, weather or spectacular cultural events. Here’s when to avoid Japan:
1. Late March to Early April
This time is the end of the school year and the beginning of the new year. The residents usually go to holidays at this time and this is the best season for the hotel in the tourist spots. It is also the best time for the people who wants to see a flower called a cherry blossom in Japan. So, if you like a crowd, this is the best time for you. But, if you don’t, then maybe try it at another time.
2. Golden Week (Late April to Early May)
Golden Week, every year from 29 April to 5 May, is the busiest travel season in Japan, even when it is a series of three or four holidays in consecutive days. People often take all the holidays as paid leaves, especially outside of Tokyo. If you are prone to panic attacks when exposed to large crowds moving quickly, go out of your way to avoid it.
3. Rainy Season (End of June to Mid-July)
If you like to go to the sunshine, don’t go in rainy season. Because it rains rather often in this season, and a high humidity occurs. Rainy season starts from the beginning to the middle of June and storms generally occur almost in every day. It rains all day in rainy days and it only stops for several hours in the middle of a rainy day. However, the weather doesn’t meet for outdoor activity. In rainy days, the most reasonable way is to go Okinawa or Hokkaido that weather will be light a little.
4. August
August is the hottest month of the year. The temperature will reach the annually high level often. If you plan to visit Japan in August, remember the heat of summer! Try to retreat from the summer heat in highland areas such as Nagano and Hokkaido.
5. New Year’s Holidays (December 30 to January 3)
Many of the people who come to visit shrines and temples on the New Year’s holiday live locally, so the public spaces in the city are crowded. This can be a good time to experience Japanese culture, but it can also get very busy. If you don’t like being around other people, it might not be the time to visit Kawasaki.
Best Times to Visit Japan
Having dealt with the worst times to visit Japan, we can finally inaugurate a section dedicated to the best. The most pleasant, delightful and uncrowded times for travel in the Land of the Rising Sun.
1. Mid-April
If you want to just dabble a little in ‘cherry blossom viewing’ – I’m referring to mid-April, kind of at the tail end of the season, before the beginning of Golden week [an extended holiday that has been extended, just this year, to help prime the pump of the national economy], anyway, that’s my favourite time. It’s still fairly mild, tourism is not quite so insane, so it’s a great time for foreign travellers.
2. Mid-May to June
After going through Golden Week, though, despite the fact that lots of shops will close for Golden Week, the closer you get to the end, the quieter it becomes. The weather is really nice, you can go pretty much anywhere as a tourist and it would be less busy, that would be the nice time to travel.
3. October to November
This is also generally the best time of year to visit the country. Mild weather, long days, cool evenings in the mornings but not too cool to sleep. And in the mountains, and elsewhere, the leaves turn.
4. Late November to Early December
Their suggestion was, if you want to see nice autumn colors, that time is the best. Their suggestion is that if you want to see nice autumn colors, then this time is the best, but I think you wouldn’t like it cause you will surely have many crowds.But still, I think you should see those sceneries to get better and different experience from those in China. one more suggestion I have is that you can take a short tour at a natural site.
Conclusion
It pays to know when you should be going to Japan, because it can also make for a very long march of disappointment. Certainly there are times of year when you want to avoid the hordes or the bad weather or the poor light, but equally there are times when you can’t believe how beautiful, and how empty, it can all be in this tiny, temperate country. Don’t come here because you’re supposed to, come because you want. It’s just as possible to see the watery stillness of early spring, the flowering of the sakura in summer, or the autumnal foliage in late autumn – there is always a reason to be here – and each time of year reveals something new, meaning that it’s possible to travel any time of the year again if you so wish. For a bespoke Japan travel experience, get in touch for an itinerary.
For more information on planning your trip, check out Find Japan Guide – Your Travel Consultancy.