what to wear in Spring season?

Hi, I want to hear some advices on what is the proper clothes to wear during Spring (end of March) given that I will be stopping by in Tokyo before going North.

I've heard that years ago, it actually snowed in Tokyo in the middle of Spring? But some say that the temperature is generally mild, not so cold or warm?

What kind of footwear, tops, and bottoms should I wear that are appropriate to the weather and not offensive to the locals?

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Hi, this winter the weather is kind of strange. In Tokyo, we do not have rain (except very little rain) or snow for about 1 month and it is very dry, but the regions on the other side have a lot of snow.

Sometimes it snowed in March in Tokyo. As I checked the weather in March end of 2009 and 2010, max. temp was around 8-14C, and min. temp was around 1-6C. I think you might need a winter coat or jacket (not too heavy) so that you can take off or on depending on the temperature.

At the end of March, the weather is usually very unstable--can be freezing or pretty warm. You never know. Make sure to bring your warm jacket. You'll need it in up north anyway.

jeans, t-shirt, windcheater, jacket..layers are easy: in late March 20008 we needed the windcheater most days, and the jacket at night.
In early April 2009 we didn't need the windcheater at all, nor the jacket, but we didn't go north of Tokyo.

is wearing boots necessary? Or just ordinary flats (doll shoes)with socks would suffice?

thank you for your advices so far!

It snows in spring in Tokyo a lot of years, definitely not just something that only happened years ago. Last year there was snow sitting on the ground after a snowfall in April, so it can even be that late. If it's fine ballet-type flats are fine ( is this maybe what you mean by "doll shoes"?) but if it's particularly cold or raining (common in March) you might not be very comfortable in them, particularly up north.

If you don't have boots, at least bring/buy a pair of sneakers as the floors in train stations and other places can get slippery when it rains.

woah. It seems I really up against a coolldd weather.

When you say jacket, is this like the fleece type? I know that fleece is more thicker. Or wearing one might be too exaggerating? haha.

Thank you for the footwear advice. As I am not generally into sneakers, I'll just make sure that the doll shoes I'll be wearing are rubberized such that I won't slip even if the floor is wet.

are mittens recommended?

And just the idea of arriving in Tokyo with snow greeting me would be awesome though I believe rain is likely to greet me than anything else. :(

I'm not familiar with doll shoes, but your feet can get wet from above and from puddles if they are not completely closed in, which can be awful if it's cold. You'll find that most women here are still in boots (fashionable ones) in March.

As for jackets, yes, a fleece jacket would be good, at a minimum- make sure you have other clothes you can layer under it. On cold days in March I will still be wearing my down coat, especially if it's windy and I'm outside very much. On the other hand you can get quite warm days in Tokyo where you won't need a jacket at all at midday, but the weather is so changeable that you can never be sure if you'll need a jacket or not, so it's better to take it with you every day. Morning and evening are likely to be quite chilly still.

What about first 2 weeks of may? i will be in osaka and tokyo around this period..

i should think a normal jacket/ cardigans with jeans/ leggings or stockings should suffice?

i was reading some website that the temp is usually ard 15 to 22 deg c in may?

last year pics
http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_60902ece0100iuxu.html
http://pandapirates.blogspot.com/2010/05/kyoto.html

However,think about "GW".
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2282.html
any major spots busy.
Especialy Shinkansen reservation hardly.

I was in Osaka and Tokyo in the middle 2 weeks of last march. It rained the first day we arrived in osaka and the last when we left Tokyo. Otherwise the weather was fine. But towards the end of march we experienced extremely chilly wind. It was really really cold then. When it wasn't windy I could get by without a jacket in the day when it's sunny. On my first day at Disney I shivered crazy in the evening even though I was decked in warm clothes- I ditched my boots that day for my ballet flats and really regret it. IMHO ballet flats are fine in winter if it's not windy e.g. Spending lots of time indoors cos I wore the same flats comfortably all round Europe in November. It's best to forget the flats unless you're planning on socks with flats-must keep feet covered else you'll be extremely miserable. Hth