Best Time to Visit Japan: Season-by-Season Guide

Japan rewards travellers who plan around the season rather than the calendar. Each of the four seasons has a very different feel, a different price band, and a different set of things worth building a trip around.

Spring (March-May): blossom and big crowds

Cherry blossom moves north from late March in Kyushu to early May in Hokkaido. The bloom lasts only about a week in any one place, so a fixed itinerary can miss it entirely - flexible routing helps.

Expect the year’s highest hotel prices and book intercity trains well ahead. If you want the look without the peak, aim for the fresh-green weeks in late April.

Autumn (October-November): the quiet favourite

Autumn colour is as photogenic as blossom and lasts longer. Temperatures are comfortable for walking, and outside a few famous temples the crowds are thinner than in spring.

This is the window our experts pick most often for a first trip.

Winter and summer

December to February is ski season in Hokkaido and Nagano, with dry, clear days in Tokyo and Kyoto and the lowest prices of the year. June’s rainy season and the humid heat of July-August are the seasons to avoid unless you are heading for the northern mountains or a summer festival.