Plan your trip
When to go, paperwork, budget, money and internet: everything to sort out before you zip up your suitcase.
- When to go
- Entry requirements
- Flights
- Budget
- Book in the right order
- Money and payment
- Travel insurance
- Internet: your eSIM
- Must-have apps
- Packing
When to go, each season has its Japan
Cherry blossoms in late March, red maples in late November, a hot and humid summer, snow in the north in winter. Japan works all year: pick your season, then dodge the crowds.
Dry skies in Tokyo, snow up north. Many shops close on the 1st to the 3rd.
Sapporo Snow Festival, from the 4th to the 11th.
First cherry blossoms around the 24th in Tokyo.
Full bloom in early April in Kyoto. Golden Week from the 29th.
Golden Week until the 5th. Rains in Okinawa from the 10th.
Rainy season from the 7th in Tokyo. Not in Hokkaido.
Rains end around the 19th. Hot and humid.
34 °C (93 °F) in Kyoto. Obon: trains and hotels full from the 7th to the 16th.
Typhoons, as in August. Very rainy.
Tokyo's rainiest month. Red maples in Hokkaido.
Red maples around the 28th in Tokyo.
Maples in Kyoto around the 5th. New Year getaways from the 29th.
Temperatures: Tokyo's average daily high (1991-2020 normals, Japan Meteorological Agency). On average, three typhoons make landfall each year, mostly in August and September.
The cherry blossom wave
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The red maple wave
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Average dates (Japan Meteorological Agency): first blossoms, then full bloom about a week later; red maples on the reference tree. They shift from year to year: in 2026, the cherry trees were 3 to 13 days early. Aim for a window, not a day.
PlanJapanPlan your trip · When to goFestivals and crowds, the 2027 calendar
Nine big festivals, season by season, then the three periods when all of Japan goes on holiday.
Feb.Snow Festival, Sapporo, from the 4th to the 11th: snow and ice sculptures.
Apr.Takayama Festival, the 14th and 15th: decorated floats under the cherry trees.
MaySanja Matsuri, Tokyo (Asakusa), May 14 to 16, 2027: about a hundred mikoshi through the streets.
MayAoi Matsuri, Kyoto, the 15th: a procession in court costume over about 8 km (5 miles).
JulyGion Matsuri, Kyoto, all month: parades of the 34 floats on the 17th and 24th.
JulyTenjin Matsuri, Osaka, the 24th and 25th: boats and fireworks on the evening of the 25th.
Aug.Nebuta Matsuri, Aomori, from the 2nd to the 7th: giant illuminated lanterns.
Aug.Awa Odori, Tokushima, from the 11th to the 15th: street dancing, over a million visitors.
Oct.Takayama Festival, the 9th and 10th: floats and mechanical puppets.
Oct.Jidai Matsuri, Kyoto, the 22nd: about 2,000 participants, a thousand years of history in 2 hours.
Three periods to avoid if you can
Golden WeekApril 29, then five public holidays in a row, May 1 to 5.
ObonThe summer travel peak, August 7 to 16.
New YearGetaways December 29 to 31, return trips until January 4.PlanJapanPlan your trip · When to go