Best time to visit Tokyo: cherry blossoms to autumn leaves
A month-by-month breakdown of when Tokyo delivers — and when to stay home.
The short answer
April for cherry blossoms, late October through November for autumn leaves, early September for shoulder-season bargains. Avoid late June through mid-July (rainy season) and mid-August (oppressive humidity plus Obon crowds).
Month-by-month
January — Crisp, dry, and cold. Average highs around 10°C, lows near freezing. Fewer tourists. Hatsumode (first shrine visits of the year) at Meiji Jingu is an experience even if you're not religious.
February — Still cold but the plum blossoms start at Yushima Tenjin and Hanegi Park. A quieter preview of what sakura season will be like in April.
March — Cherry blossoms might arrive late in the month, but peak is usually early April. Prices are starting to climb. Book hotels at least six weeks ahead.
April — Peak sakura season. The most beautiful and most expensive time of year. Hotel rates can double, and popular parks (Ueno, Chidorigafuchi) are genuinely shoulder-to-shoulder during weekends. Worth every yen.
May — Golden Week (the first week) is Japan's biggest domestic travel holiday. Avoid it. The rest of May is outstanding — warm, dry, the parks are still green, and prices drop after Golden Week ends.
June — Early June is fine, sometimes hot. From around the 10th through mid-July, tsuyu (the rainy season) sets in. Steady drizzle, high humidity, and intermittent heavy rain. Museums and indoor food experiences shine; Mt Fuji stays hidden behind clouds for weeks.
July — Rainy season breaks mid-month, then it gets hot. By late July the heat is oppressive — 32°C and 80% humidity is typical. Summer festivals (Mitama, Sumida River fireworks) are the reason to visit despite the heat.
August — Obon, the mid-August ancestral homecoming holiday, shuts down parts of the city and fills the rest with domestic travelers. Hot, humid, crowded. Not the best choice.
September — Early September is still hot but the typhoons clear the air. Late September is outstanding: prices drop 20-30% from May/October peaks, the weather cools to the low 20s, and autumn leaves haven't started yet so there are fewer tourists.
October — The weather stars align. Low 20s, dry, clear skies. Early October is shoulder; late October into early November is when the autumn leaves start turning. Hotel rates creep back up.
November — Peak autumn leaves season. Rikugien Garden, Koishikawa Korakuen, and Mount Takao all put on their best show. Cooler than October (highs around 17°C) but still beautiful. Some Tokyoites prefer it to spring sakura.
December — Cold, dry, bright. Illuminations (especially Marunouchi and Roppongi Hills) turn the city into a light show from late November through Christmas. A quieter, cheaper month to visit.
Book these months early
- April 1–15 for sakura peak
- November 15–30 for autumn leaves
- December 20 – January 3 (if you want to be in Tokyo for New Year's fireworks at Zojoji temple)
Everything else can be booked two to three weeks out.
The "stay home" months
If you can avoid late June through late July and mid-August, you'll have a dramatically better experience. The rainy season specifically is worse than it sounds — not constant rain, but enough that rooftop bars, Mt Fuji viewpoints, and hiking at Mt Takao all become coin flips.