Seasons and festivals
When to come: blossom, autumn colour, fireworks and matsuri.
Gion Matsuri
FestivalsOn right nowJul 1 – Jul 31
Kyoto's great festival, running for over a thousand years. Events fill the whole of July, with the float processions on the 17th and 24th. On the eves before, the floats are lit and old townhouses open their doors.
Official sourceSumida River Fireworks
FireworksOn right nowJul 25 – Jul 31
Tokyo's oldest fireworks festival — some 20,000 shells and close to a million spectators. Outside the paid seating you need to claim a spot hours ahead, and the stations around Asakusa are punishing on the way home.
Usually the last Saturday in July, postponed a day in bad weather.
Obon
FestivalsIn 15 daysAug 13 – Aug 16
The festival for welcoming ancestors home, and the other week when the country moves. Bon dances are held everywhere, and Kyoto lights the Gozan bonfires on the 16th. Transport and lodging tighten up again.
Autumn colour
Autumn colourIn 83 daysOct 20 – Dec 5
As popular as the cherry season but spread over a longer window, so the crowds thin out. Kyoto's temples open for evening viewings, which look nothing like the same places by day.
Runs north to south, the opposite of the blossom. Kyoto and Nara peak from mid to late November.
Official sourceWinter illuminations
IlluminationsIn 104 daysNov 10 – Dec 25
Station plazas and shopping districts go up in large-scale light displays. Sunset is early, so they start around 5pm — the easiest winter evening out there is.
New Year
FestivalsIn 153 daysDec 29 – Jan 3
The most important holiday of the year. Many shops and museums close around 1 January while shrines fill with hatsumode visitors. Check closing dates before you build an itinerary around it.
This window crosses the year end; closures typically run 31 December to about 3 January.
Snow and winter onsen
SnowIn 160 daysJan 5 – Feb 28
The quietest and cheapest weeks of the year. If you came for a snow-framed outdoor bath or for powder skiing, these two months are the season. City sights are calm too.
Plum blossom
BlossomIn 196 daysFeb 10 – Mar 15
Blooms weeks before the cherries and draws a fraction of the crowds. Strongly scented, and the best excuse to walk a garden while the air is still cold.
Earlier the further west you go; in Tohoku it can run into late March.
Cherry blossom
BlossomIn 234 daysMar 20 – Apr 15
The hardest weeks of the year to book. Lock in flights and rooms six months out. Full bloom lands about a week after the first flowers open, and the petals start falling soon after.
The blossom front moves south to north and shifts by a week or more from year to year — check the forecast close to your dates.
Official sourceGolden Week
FestivalsIn 274 daysApr 29 – May 5
A cluster of public holidays when the whole country travels at once. Trains, hotels and sights are full and priced accordingly. Avoid it if you can.
Rainy season
FestivalsIn 311 daysJun 5 – Jul 20
Not a solid month of rain — humid grey days punctuated by heavy bursts. Hydrangeas are at their best and gardens and temples are quiet. Any convenience store sells umbrellas.
Hokkaido has no rainy season at all; Okinawa's starts in May and ends in June.
Fees and rules change. Check the official source before making a decision that depends on them.