Tokyo in Spring
Tokyo in Summer
Tokyo in Autumn
Tokyo in Winter

Tokyo

Japan • 16 guides

When is the best time to visit Tokyo? →Where to stay in Tokyo? →First time in Tokyo? →

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Best Months
Mar–Apr, Oct–Dec
Temperature
1–33°C
Language
Japanese
Currency
Japanese Yen (¥)
Guides
16

Choose Your Season

Broader overviews covering weather patterns, events, and highlights across an entire season.

Plan by Month

Each month at a glance — temperature, crowds, and one click to the full guide.

Temperature<5°5–12°12–18°18–24°24–30°30°+
Best monthsRecommended windows

Events & Festivals

Dates, where to watch, and what each one actually costs.

Hatsumode at Meiji JinguFriday 1 January to Sunday 3 January 2027Japan’s biggest New Year shrine visit, three million people in three daysThe January Grand Sumo TournamentSunday 10 January to Sunday 24 January 2027Fifteen days of top-division sumo at the sport’s home arena in RyogokuSanja MatsuriFriday 21 May to Sunday 23 May 2027Tokyo’s biggest street festival, three days of shrines carried through AsakusaThe Sumida River FireworksSaturday 31 July 2027Twenty thousand fireworks over the river, watched by close to a million peopleTori-no-IchiSaturday 7 November to Thursday 19 November 2026A twenty-four hour night market selling lucky rakes, held on the rooster days of NovemberTokyo MarathonSunday 7 March 2027One of the six World Marathon Majors, run through central Tokyo on a fast, flat course

Two Famous Fortnights, and Ten Quieter Months

Tokyo’s reputation rests on two short windows: the cherry blossom at the turn of March into April, and the autumn foliage from late November into early December. Both are worth the trouble and both are brief, unpredictable to within about a week, and shared with everybody else. What gets less attention is that the other ten months are a large, cheap, uncrowded city.

Spring and Autumn: The Peak Windows

Spring runs 9 to 19°C and autumn 8 to 29°C, and between them they hold the two dates people plan years around. April is the busiest month of the Tokyo year by a clear margin. The foliage window is the quieter of the two and arguably the better one: the colour at Rikugien and Koishikawa Korakuen stands against Kyoto with a fraction of the queue.

Summer Is Hot and Full of Festivals

Nineteen to 33°C with real humidity, which is the honest reason summer is not the recommended season. It is also when the city is at its most alive after dark: Obon lanterns, neighbourhood fireworks and rooftop beer gardens. June is rated low for crowds despite being the rainy month, which makes it one of the better value windows in the calendar.

Winter Is the Underrated One

One to 12°C, four to six wet days a month, and the clearest skies of the year, which is when Fuji is visible from the city at all. January and February are both quiet and cheap. Nothing closes, the food is built for the weather, and it is the easiest time to get a table anywhere you want one.

Our Tokyo Guides

Sixteen guides, four seasonal overviews and all twelve months, including the ten that are not on a postcard and are frequently the better trip.

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