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  • One of the first things that come to mind when planning a trip to Japan is: When is

  • the best time to travel there?

  • Stretching over 3000 kilometers from north to south, the islands of Japan span multiple

  • climate zones and offer beautiful natural sights across the country throughout the year:

  • from floating ice in the seas off Hokkaido up north, to jungles in the southern islands

  • of Okinawa, and a wide range in between.

  • With beautiful cherry blossoms each spring, fireworks during the heat of summer, fall

  • foliage in autumn and snow festivals during winter, Japan loves celebrating each of its

  • four distinct seasons, not to mention the plethora of festivals that take place year-round.

  • With so much worthwhile to experience across the calendar, here is a general month-by-month

  • overview to help you decideWhen to travel to Japan”.

  • January

  • January is generally a pleasant month to visit Japan thanks to sunny, dry weather along the

  • Pacific coast and lots of powder snow along the Sea of Japan coast.

  • However, days are short and vegetation is barren.

  • The most prominent holiday in January is New Year, when many people make the year's first

  • visit to a shrine or temple.

  • Two inconveniences with the New Year holiday are that many shops, restaurants and tourist

  • attractions close for one or a few days, and that there is a big increase in traffic, which

  • can be frustrating.

  • However, the rest of the month comes with relatively small crowds or tourists.

  • February

  • Temperatures and weather conditions in February are very similar to those in January, and

  • travel activity remains relatively low throughout the month, making it quite a pleasant month

  • to visit the country.

  • This month also marks the peak of the wintersport season, offering large volumes of high-quality

  • powder snow in the mountains along the Sea of Japan coast and in northern Japan.

  • The season starts in the higher mountains in November and lasts in many resorts until

  • early May.

  • However, the best conditions for skiing are found from January to early March.

  • Aside from winter sports, February also brings about many majestic winter scenes in places

  • such as the Shirakawago farm houses, snow monsters in Zao, the drift ice off Hokkaido

  • of course the internationally famous Snow Festival in Sapporo which is held for one

  • week each year in Hokkaido's capital city.

  • March

  • In March the areas in the north are still cold, but we see the first signs of spring

  • in the southern half of the country, with plum blossoms offering nice natural spectacles.

  • By the end of the month, the renowned cherry blossom season usually has started in warmer

  • parts of the main islands, such as southern Shikoku and Kyushu..

  • One inconvenience is that domestic travel tends to increase in the second half of the

  • month, mostly due to spring school holidays.

  • April

  • April is one of the best months to travel in Japan.

  • Temperatures are comfortable throughout the country, it is relatively sunny and it is

  • the peak of the famous cherry blossoms.

  • In the average year the blossoms move from the south to the north during the entire month.

  • There cherry blossoms come with an increase in domestic travel, and some popular sightseeing

  • spots get flooded with crowds of domestic and foreign tourists.

  • May

  • May is another favorite month to travel in Japan.

  • Temperatures hover around 20 degrees throughout most of Honshu and vegetation has started

  • to develop as well.

  • One of Japan's most popular holidays, known as Golden Week, takes place from late April

  • to early May.

  • It is a collection of four national holidays during a week, which causes a very high increase

  • in domestic travellers.

  • If you are travelling during Golden Week, we recommend booking your accommodations and

  • making train reservations well in advance to ensure yourself of a stress-free trip.

  • The rest of the month though is one of the best to travel, with lush vegetation and nice

  • temperatures in most parts of the country.

  • June

  • The weather in June gets heavily affected by the rainy season.

  • Temperatures continue to increase but the percentage of sunny days starts to decrease

  • as many days are either cloudy or rainy.

  • Hokkaido up north gets less affected by the rainy season and other places such as Hakone

  • or Mount Koya can be very atmospheric and scenic to visit on a rainy day.

  • The rainy season in Okinawa down south usually lasts from early May to late June

  • July

  • Once the rainy season ends around mid July, weather conditions are very hot and humid.

  • The humidity level is so high it can make you sweat even by just standing outside.

  • If you are looking to escape the heat, Hokkaido is again a very nice destination to enjoy

  • some cooler temperatures and a drier atmosphere.

  • July to September is the best time for beach holidays in Okinawa.

  • July also marks the opening of the Mt Fuji climbing season, which lasts until the beginning

  • of September.

  • August

  • August is the hottest and most humid month which can make sightseeing very tiring.

  • On the other hand, a great thing about summer in Japan is its high number of festivals and

  • fireworks.

  • They usually attract large crowds of people wearing traditional yukata and make for a

  • great opportunity to mingle with the locals.

  • It is important to note that due to the school holidays from late July to end of August,

  • there is a considerable increase in domestic travel activity.

  • It gets especially intense in mid August during the week of Obon, a nationwide annual Buddhist

  • event when people visit their home town to commemorate their ancestors.

  • September

  • September sees a fair amount of rainy and cloudy days, while temperatures and humidity

  • levels remain high.

  • Alongside August it is also the peak of the typhoon season, with an average of around

  • one per month hitting the main islands.

  • Typhoons cause heavy rain and strong winds in wide parts or in all of Japan for one or

  • two days.

  • A positive thing is that they are often followed by very sunny weather.

  • Popular sightseeing spots are less crowded in September, as August crowds have mostly

  • disappeared.

  • October

  • Thanks to generally comfortable weather conditions, October is one of the most pleasant months

  • to travel in Japan.

  • Autumn colors have started appearing in Japan's northern regions and higher elevations.

  • November

  • With mild and pleasant weather conditions throughout the month, November is one of the

  • best months to travel in Japan.

  • The autumn colors are at their peak in many regions of the country, offering spectacular

  • sceneries of vivid red orange and yellow colors.

  • Except around popular autumn leaf spots, the travel activity is generally rather low.

  • December

  • Winter is starting in December with temperatures falling to cooler levels and vegetation turning

  • barren.

  • Generally dry and sunny weather conditions along the Pacific coast and low domestic travel

  • activity make it a good month to visit Japan.

  • Throughout the season, illuminations of various shapes and sizes are held in many cities.

  • Do keep in mind that in winter the sun only shines for around 10 hours each day and scenic

  • landscapes may not look their best due to the barren state of vegetation.

  • At the end of the month, travel activity sharply increases due to the New Year holidays.

  • Hopefully this video has given you some helpful insight into where to visit in Japan depending

  • on the time of year.

  • For more information or to watch another video, click the links on the screen now, or head

  • over to Japan-Guide.com, your comprehensive up-to-date travel guide, first hand from Japan.

  • Thanks for watching, be sure to subscribe and click the notification bell for more videos

  • about Japan.

  • Happy travels.

One of the first things that come to mind when planning a trip to Japan is: When is

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