Best time to visit Japan

Japan does not have a single best season. Its 12 destinations peak across 4 different months, which means an itinerary that moves around the country will be in the right season for some of it and the wrong one for the rest — worth building the route around.

Averaged across every destination listed, Japan is at its best in May, scoring 74 out of 100, with October close behind at 72. January is the weakest month nationally at 37. The workable window is wide — 4 months sit within eight points of the best — so a trip covering several of these places has room to move.

There is real variation inside Japan: 22 °C annually in Kagoshima against 12 °C in Sapporo. Rainfall is broadly similar throughout, from 136 wet days a year in Tokyo to 207 in Niigata.