Best time to visit Tokyo

May is the best month in Tokyo, scoring 74 out of 100, with January the weakest at 48. The 26-point spread means timing is worth planning around without being decisive. 6 of the twelve months sit within ten points of the best, so there is more than one right answer.

August is the warmest month at 31 °C and January the coolest at 9 °C — a 22 °C spread across the year. Around 45 days a year top 30 °C, concentrated in August and the months either side. 26 nights a year dip below freezing.

There is a real wet season here. June, July, September and October carry the rain — up to 15 wet days in a month — while January, February and December drop as low as 6. That 9-day gap is the biggest single difference between a good month and a bad one in Tokyo, and it moves further than the temperature does.

The sea is comfortable for swimming in May to December — 27.8 °C at its warmest against 18 °C at its coldest. The water peaks a month or two after the air does, so the best swimming falls later in the year than the best weather. Daylight runs from 9.8 hours in winter to 14.6 in summer, enough to notice on a sightseeing itinerary.

The three strongest months are May, April, June. The one to think twice about is January. Each month below has its own page with rainfall reliability, extremes, daylight, sea temperature and crowd levels.

Tokyo month by month