Risk of typhoon in may?

Hi,
I was wondering what the risks of a disrupting typhoon are in May?

I plan on going there after Golden Week, as there are places which are not open in April I would like to see. But going in late April would probably be tough with all domestic travel.

Looking back at the JMA Weather archive for typhoons, I saw in 2010 the first typhoon entered in August and in 2011 the first entered in early May.

Is it possible to predict an "early typhoon year"? Does the El Niño have any effect maybe?

It is possible, but the probability is low. The "season" in northern hemisphere is from June to end of November, but it has been observed in every month of the year. If you try to avoid all natural disasters, you will never go anywhere. With advancement in weather satellite technologies, typhoons can be observed forming, thus be prepared days in advance.

Very very low, mostly "Zero".
http://www.data.jma.go.jp/fcd/yoho/typhoon/statistics/landing/landing....
See the weather forecast of JMA also others.
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/week/
Seems you saw "closing" records.
http://www.data.jma.go.jp/fcd/yoho/typhoon/statistics/accession/hondo....
(above is "landing" records)

Typhoons come from the ocean in the south,
but in the low sea temp period it will weaken the power rapidly as it go north.

Some of the above links are seriously misleading. Having a storm centre cross the coast line (one of the creiteria/definitions I saw) is a pretty bad way to plan for disasters. To say near zero probability is silly. Typhoons in the western Pacific basin occur most months of the year, not all make land-fall, and a smaller proportion head to Japan. Some of those that do not make landfall still have a big impact.

There are plenty of storms and typhoons, but fortunately, you need to be in the same place as the storm for it to have an impact. As they are extensively studied and forecast, they are not so hard to avoid as a traveler.

May is an awesome month for Japan. Pleasant weather (getting hot by the end of May), lower crowds, still some sakura around in places like Bessho Onsen, still some snow on the mountain tops. Long daylight hours too. I've been a few times in May, the weather has been perfect.

I am mosly worried getting stranded if the train or airplane does not run as expected. Apparently the intl air just become delayed during typhoon but if domestic flight I might get stranded or no place to stay.

I wish to visit the alps but if the weather is too bad I might need to cancel the visit.

@Lazy,
May seems really great for travel. I went in late March-April last year and I remember it getting rather warm (except for one day in Hiroshima with 3-4 degrees around 31st of March, while the day before had been maybe 15-20 degrees).

Now we are fighting with terrible cold winds and rain, I remember October being unusually warm (compared to here) in Japan also.

Is May any good for hiking in Japan or is it still snow in many of the higher elevations? What about the north of Japan like Tohoku and Hokkaido, is it worth visiting in May or too early? :)

@Lazy,
May seems really great for travel. I went in late March-April last year and I remember it getting rather warm (except for one day in Hiroshima with 3-4 degrees around 31st of March, while the day before had been maybe 15-20 degrees).

Now we are fighting with terrible cold winds and rain, I remember October being unusually warm (compared to here) in Japan also.

Is May any good for hiking in Japan or is it still snow in many of the higher elevations? What about the north of Japan like Tohoku and Hokkaido, is it worth visiting in May or too early? :)

Hi. I'm not sure about the northern areas but I've been to the central alps in mid May (Karuizawa/Bessho/Kamikouchi etc). Really it was perfect. Still some snow at the peaks in Kamikouchi and pretty brisk at Bessho, but otherwise cool and perfect for long walks. By the end of May it is usually getting pretty warm to hot in Tokyo, Kamakura. Kyoto etc.

May is a very good time to travel. You are worrying too much.

Tbh I was thinking of going in june or july or even august but reading about the weather conditions like the Rain season and the crowds in mid august made me hesitating...

Ive been to Thailand twice and the humidity was rough...

A bit out of the area. What is Okinawa and Ishigaki like during may?
I read the rain season hits as early as May down there. Maybe too late to go there?

Would be cool seing the distance from Tokyo and mangroove swamps. But if the weather is bad. ..

There are direct flights to Ishigaki and Baha from Haneda so air pass could be used if booked early enough. .

Essentially in Kyushu, Honshu and Shikoku June is rainy season and July and August are very hot and humid. May (and mid September to mid November) however is great for these regions.

In Okinawa rainy season starts earlier, I think May, but I am not an expert.

If you want to travel in June, July or August but don't want to travel to a hot and humid country, then there is still Hokkaido. Specially June and July are great for Hokkaido.

Enjoy your trip to Japan!

Thank you for your reply. I would like to check out Hokkaido as well but would it be too cold in May?