Weather in July

In Japan from 10th - 25th of July.
Itinery is this :
Kyoto 4 nights
Nagasaki 2 Nights
Hiroshima 2 nights
himeji 1 night
tokyo 6 nights.

In all the UK guide books it suggests the weather is 'warm and rainy' but a friend that visited JP at the same year said it didnt rain at all ... (sorry its the british obsession with weather)

We want to travel light to leave plenty of room for pressies - so can we pack light summer clothes - or is it better to pack some 'cooler weather clothes' instead - ie. does it cool down at night in the summer ?

any advice would be great ! Thank you x

It is the rainy season, but that does not mean that it is raining on a daily basis. Sometimes, it does not rain for many consecutive days.

As for temperatures, it tends to be hot and humid on most of the days, often over 30 degrees. Temperatures do not usually fall below 20 degrees even during the night. But there can be occasional days when it can still be a little bit cool (15-20 degrees).

Average daytime high on July 10 in Tokyo: 28 degrees
Average nighttime low on July 10 in Tokyo: 22 degrees

Similar temperatures in the other cities you listed. The temperatures are lower in higher elevations, such as Nikko, Hakone and Koyasan.

Hello,

I was also planning to go to Japan this summer in July between the 1st and the 16th. I have an additional question about the weather : when it is not raining, is there sun or are there clouds all the time? and when it rains, does it rain the whole day or just for an hour or two?
Sorry for bothering, I just want to figure out whether it is worth visiting Japan at this time of the year or if I should better choose another country...

Thabk you so much!

Below are average values for Tokyo. The actual situation can vary strongly from year to year. Furthermore, the situation is very different in other parts of Japan, especially Hokkaido and Okinawa, which tend to have better weather in the first half of July.

Percentage of days with considerable rain (more than 1 cm): 15-21 %
Percentage of days with rain (more than 1 mm): 37-43%
Percentage of days with at least 4 hours of sunshine: 27-34%

when it is not raining, is there sun or are there clouds all the time?

It is often cloudy, but there can also be sunshine.

and when it rains, does it rain the whole day or just for an hour or two?

Both is happening. Sometimes it is raining the whole day. Sometimes on and off. Sometimes just for a few hours. Sometimes it is just drizzling. Sometimes there is heavy rain.

Thank you so much Uji!

I really want to go to Japan but now I'm hesitating...maybe I'd better go somewhere else this summer and go to Japan at another time of the year when it rains less..

Thanks a lot for your answer!