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Best time to visit Japan 2017/9/23 01:58
Planning on taking a trip to Tokyo, Japan for next year with the wife to celebrate 30yr. anniversary. Looking to stay for 1-2 weeks...would like to take the bullet train somewhere for a day outing or overnight stay...thanks.
by Johnny1313  

Re: Best time to visit Japan 2017/9/23 11:19
Spring or Autumn i would say.

Summer scorching hot and there's risk of typhoon and winter is too cold for me.



by IvanChand rate this post as useful

Re: Best time to visit Japan 2017/9/23 11:32
hi there,

I agree with ivanchand... spring and autumn are both less extreme weather periods, however, as u expressed you will be spending all but a day or two of your 7-14 day trip in tokyo, it is probably less important. it also depends how you cope with temps i.e where u r from AND what ud like to do while in japan.

more so, than the time of year, i would suggest consider equally traveling to places other than tokyo.

Cities such as tokyo seem to be less extreme with temps with the addition of climate controlled buildings etc. if you went to smaller towns and some rural places, things like the beauty of the changing leaves of autumn would be a factor as would the cherry blossoms of spring.

But... putting that all aside, if you still wish to spend your time in tokyo, I would recommend late october, early november. :)

good luck!
by AussieRonnie rate this post as useful

Re: Best time to visit Japan 2017/9/23 16:22
In general for Japan, at least for Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, the best travel times are May (right after golden week) and roughly from the later half of September to mid/end November.
Enjoy your trip to Japan!
by LikeBike rate this post as useful

Re: Best time to visit Japan 2017/9/23 16:31

I would say time your visit either during the sakura or autumn Foliage seasons. Avoid summer time, the heat and the humidity could be a wee bit too much. However, summer can be a perfect time to visit Hokkaido.
by . (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Best time to visit Japan 2017/9/23 16:58
Just to give a different viewpoint, early December can be good. Cold, but visitor numbers are down after the autumn peak so you get to enjoy things rather than being part of the crush. But the days are short. The second half of May is good too because most people want to see the sakura so they visit earlier. There are still some sakura around then, eg Bessho Onsen.

June can start getting pretty hot, though if you plan for that and visit cooler places it can be a good time. I've not braved Japan in July or August. Early September can be very hot, later is cooling down but there is still a typhoon risk.
by Lazy Pious (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Best time to visit Japan 2017/9/23 18:03
Hello,

Climate-wise I recommend spring and autumn. Those are also the most beautiful seasons.
Depending on where you go you can see cherry blossoms and many other flowers or autumn foliage from late March to late May and from September to early December like-wise.

Note that for the main tourist spots such as Tokyo or Osaka it's usually the first week of April for cherry blossoms and the last week of November for the peak of the autumn colors.

But also the in-between seasons as well as summer and winter have something to offer.
by zoomingjapan rate this post as useful

Re: Best time to visit Japan 2018/1/24 06:58
Thank you for all of the advice on when to visit Japan...Going in mid October.
by Johnny1313 rate this post as useful

Re: Best time to visit Japan 2018/2/2 03:32
I've been in Mid-October and thought it was a great time of year. Not too hot, not too cold and there are some places that already boast lovely autumn colours.

You mentioned wanting to do a daytrip somewhere. Nikko could be really nice for that. We went there and did the Senjogahara plateau hike from Ryuzu no taki onwards. A walk that is not long or intensive but mostly flat wooden broadwalks and it was really lovely (I went around 8 October, for reference). It did take a somewhat lenghty busride to get there, but I suppose that depends on what you're used to with travel. You could spend the night in Nikko at a ryokan to experience such a stay and that would cut the travel time back to Tokyo.

But you also mentioned taking the Shinkansen on this bustrip. Personally I'd suggest going to Tohoku for the mixture of nature in autumn foilage and stay the night at a traditional onsen ryokan (I loved Tsurunoyu Onsen).

Third suggestion is Hakone. Which means I'm basically staying with my theme of suggesting a night at a ryokan, some nature and possibly an onsen. It seems like a nice balance, though, since you're spending the rest of your time in Tokyo.
by Voronda (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Best time to visit Japan 2018/2/2 06:34
Mid October is a great time to go. Weather is perfect. Not to hot, not too cold.
by hakata14 rate this post as useful

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