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Photo by Atomark, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Best time to visit Tokyo

Japan · East Asia

All twelve months scored on daily temperature, rainfall, humidity and holiday crowding.

The year in Tokyo

Tap a month for its page

  1. Tokyo in January: ok
  2. Tokyo in February: good
  3. Tokyo in March: ok
  4. Tokyo in April: sweet spot
  5. Tokyo in May: sweet spot
  6. Tokyo in June: good
  7. Tokyo in July: ok
  8. Tokyo in August: ok
  9. Tokyo in September: ok
  10. Tokyo in October: ok
  11. Tokyo in November: good
  12. Tokyo in December: ok
  • Sweet spot
  • Good
  • OK
  • Avoid
  • Busy
Go in Apr or May — in Apr, 19C max, 9 rainy days. Jun is the next best.
  • Prices thereModerate, about 65% of the US
  • MoneyYen
  • PlugsType A and B, 100 V
  • DrivingOn the left

Things to do in Tokyo

  • Tokyo Skytree Completed in 2012, Tokyo Skytree stands tall over the old Sumida ward as the newest symbol of Tokyo and the world's tallest self-supporting tower at 634 m.
  • Imperial Palace Surrounded by a series of moats and high walls, the site of the former Edo Castle has been the official residence of the Japanese imperial family since 1868.
  • Tokyo Tower This was a newly re-industrialized Japan's 1958 answer to Paris's Eiffel Tower — a bit more modern-looking and 9 m taller.
  • Shibuya Crossing The famous crossing sees people crossing in every direction en masse.
  • Meiji Shrine Shinto shrine in Tokyo, Japan
  • Tokyo Disney Resort Disney resort in Tokyo

Tours and tickets in Tokyo

Each site opens on its own search: choose your dates there. A few open on their home page, where you type the place too. Links marked Ad pay us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you; most pay nothing, and what a site pays never decides whether it is listed or where. How we rank

Sights and their lines from Wikivoyage (Tokyo/Chiyoda, Tokyo/Minato, Tokyo/Shibuya, Tokyo/Sumida), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, and Wikidata; in order of how often each one's Wikipedia article was read on phones in the last 12 months.

Tokyo in pictures

Tokyo Skytree
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Akonnchiroll, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Imperial Palace
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Pierre Blaché from Paris, France, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Tokyo Tower
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Akonnchiroll, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Meiji Shrine
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Tokuzo in Edomura, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Tokyo Disney Resort
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Øyvind Holmstad, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Month by month

MonthMax °CRain days HumiditySun h/day VerdictWhy
Jan 9° 4d 62% 7.9h ok 9C max, 4 rainy days
Feb 11° 5d 61% 8.0h good 11C max, 5 rainy days
Mar 15° 11d 68% 7.9h ok 15C max, 11 rainy days
Apr 19° 9d 70% 8.5h sweet spot 19C max, 9 rainy days
May 23° 9d 73% 8.6h sweet spot 23C max, 9 rainy days
Jun 26° 11d 79% 8.1h good 26C max, 11 rainy days
Jul 31° 9d 78% 9.1h ok 31C max, 9 rainy days
Aug 32° 7d 78% 10.1h ok 32C max, 7 rainy days
Sep 28° 12d 81% 7.4h ok 28C max, 12 rainy days
Oct 22° 11d 78% 6.6h ok 22C max, 11 rainy days
Nov 17° 7d 74% 7.5h good 17C max, 7 rainy days
Dec 11° 5d 68% 7.5h ok 11C max, 5 rainy days

Rain days are the days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them.

Weather read at Tokyo's western wards: ten years of ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis, through Open-Meteo's open data.

A busy month is a crowded one, not a bad one — usually it is crowded because the weather is good. It is flagged rather than scored down, and crowds alone never make a month “avoid”: that is reserved for weather worth skipping.

How busy it gets

About as busy all year round.

Then and now

Tokyo's July days now average 30.9°C, 4.0°C warmer than in 1981–1990. 12 of 12 months are clearly warmer.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
1981–907.2°7.2°11.0°16.6°20.9°23.4°26.9°29.1°25.1°19.6°14.6°10.0°
2017–269.3°10.8°14.6°19.1°23.4°26.3°30.9°32.0°27.7°21.6°16.9°11.4°
Change+2.1°+3.6°+3.6°+2.5°+2.5°+2.9°+4.0°+2.9°+2.6°+2.1°+2.3°+1.3°

The average daily high, month by month, for the nearest ERA5 grid cell. Bold is a clear change; grey is within the ordinary spread between years. Every destination, ranked.

Busy and quiet times in Tokyo

Tokyo has a well-defined seasonal profile that aligns with typical climate norms. Visitors should be aware of the summer heat and potential typhoons during late summer.

Busiest
mid Mar to late May — Ideal spring weather and cherry blossom season attract tourists.
early Jul to late Aug — Summer brings many festivals and events, despite the heat.
Quieter, still good
early Jan to mid Mar — Winter is less crowded with better prices, though colder.
early Sep to late Oct — Fall foliage begins, making it a beautiful time to visit with moderate crowds.
early Nov to late Dec — Transitioning from fall to winter offers fewer tourists and holiday decorations.
Wet or stormy
early Jun to late Jun — rainy season, moderate
early Sep to late Sep — typhoon season, moderate
Worth timing for
Sakura Matsuri (Cherry Blossom Festival), March — High accommodation prices and potential crowding.
Sumida River Fireworks Festival, July — Increased hotel prices due to demand.
Watch out for hot temperatures in summer; typhoon risks in late summer; urban flooding during heavy rains

Written by a language model from the climate figures above. The month-by-month table is measured — ten years of ERA5 readings and published holiday calendars — and where the two disagree, the table is the one to believe.

What Tokyo is like

Tokyo can be broadly divided into the "23 special wards", "Tama region" and "Islands". Tokyo (東京 Tōkyō) is the enormous and wealthy capital of Japan, and its main city, overflowing with culture, commerce, and most of all, people. More on Wikivoyage

Worth seeing
Tokyo has a vast array of sights, but the first items on the agenda of most visitors are the temples of Asakusa, the gardens of the Imperial Palace (in Chiyoda) and the Meiji Shrine (明治神宮 Meiji-jingū, in Harajuku). More on Wikivoyage
Worth doing
See the tuna auction at the Toyosu Market and eat a sushi breakfast at the former Tsukiji Fish Market. Take a boat ride on the Sumida River from Asakusa. More on Wikivoyage
Getting in
In Japan, all roads, rails, shipping lanes and planes lead to Tokyo. Tokyo (TYO IATA for all airports) and the Kanto Region are served by two major airports. More on Wikivoyage
Staying safe
Tokyo is probably one of the safest cities you will ever visit, and Japan in general is one of the safest countries in the world. More on Wikivoyage

From the Wikivoyage article on Tokyo, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the full article has far more. The numbers above are measured; this is experience.

Getting there

By rail from the airport (HND), by metro, monorail and train: Airport limited express, Keikyu, Tokyo Monorail Haneda Express and more.

Lines that stop at the airport's terminals, as mapped by OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL); the operators' own timetables have the times and fares.

How far Tokyo is depends on where you set off from — the months above do not.

Like a local in Tokyo

On arrival

  • Paying — Cards are widely taken in cities, but carry cash for small restaurants, inns and rural areas. Suica and PASMO also pay in many shops, and PayPay QR codes are common.
  • UPI, for visitors from India — Not accepted for paying here; bring a card that works abroad.
  • Tipping — Not done in restaurants or taxis; some hotels and restaurants add a 10% service charge.

Getting around Tokyo

Suica or PASMO, as a card or in a phone wallet, on JR, the metro and buses; top up with cash at station machines. Tokyo Metro and Toei also take a tapped bank card; JR does not.

  • Apps — Rides: GO, DiDi, S.RIDE, Uber. Maps: Google Maps, Apple Maps. Messages: LINE. Ride apps here hail ordinary licensed taxis; private-car rideshare is limited to small trials.

Instead of getting a headache from the many options for getting around in Tokyo, try Google Maps for navigation – it will show you various options and fares, so you can choose between the cheapest, the most convenient… More on Wikivoyage

From the Wikivoyage article on Tokyo, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Ferries from Tokyo

  • 晴海五丁目船着場 → 日の出船着場 · about 5h 00m
  • 竹芝桟橋 → 父島 · about 24h 00m
  • 日の出桟橋 → 東京ビッグサイト

Crossings within 60 km, as mapped by OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Times are typical where the map records them.

Help

  • Emergency — police 110 · ambulance and fire 119.
    TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.

Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 7 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.

Sources (41)

Before you go

Type A and B plugs at 100 V. Drives on the left. The currency is the Yen. No UK Foreign Office advice against travel. Entry rules for British travellers. Everything for Japan: cost of living, languages, emergency numbers and health.

Around Tokyo

Nearest in Japan

All 21 places in Japan

Nearby

Routes through here

Kind of place

Tokyo is in Japan, East Asia. Distances are great-circle, so a short one can still be a long way round.

Links marked Ad pay us a commission if you book through one, at no extra cost to you. That does not affect the scores on this page, which are computed from climate and holiday data before any link is built.