Is Japan really that bad in August?

[SeaGlassDreamer]

Planning a trip for Japan in 2027. We were originally going to do Easter for 3 weeks and take Ds out for school for 1 week. Speaking to someone recently who said that Japan has become so popular that going during the blossom season is hell on earth.

This only leaves us with August. I definitely want to go for 3 weeks as I’ll never get back there again and it’s always been a dream destination for me. I know it will be hot and humid but I think I can cope with that. We did Florida in August before.

Any views? Thanks

Sorry - just saw you don’t do AS level? In which case Easter sounds like the way to go.

@Needlesnahno AS levels in England anymore. Think it’s just in Wales and NI that they still exist. I think you can do AS Further Maths at my sons school but that’s the only one.

Are you planning on taking an extra week off at Easter though? I wouldn’t do that in year 12? Far too important. Could you restrict it to 2 weeks instead?
My friends just came back from a Japan trip in late July. They coped with the heat ok.

Huh. Clearly I need to check with No.3. then. I’m in England but I thought our school (comp) is still doing them! Although all mine did/are doing further maths. Either way if you don’t have to worry about that then Easter sounds lovely despite the crowds. It’s been about 20 years since I was there but it’s an amazing country.

@Verite1, yes we were planning on 3 weeks which would be an extra week. I’ve never taken either of them out of school before so do feel slightly unsure about that but it’s such a long flight and can’t see how we could cover everything we want to see in 2 weeks. We don’t like to be too rushed. So difficult.

They have just had the hottest summer on record, someone was talking about on radio 2 today as Japan is hosting the world athletic championships and competitors are struggling with the heat. We actually had a quick stopover, just 72 hours, on the way back from Sydney to the UK, we were there exactly a month ago. I have lived in Japan previously, so this trip we primarily did Disney and we did survive it. We somehow timed it for a period when it was relatively cool by Japan summer standards, it was a bit overcast initially. The last day we went into the city, we didn't do a huge amount but we wanted to show the kids Shibuya crossing, see Tokyo character street and do the Instagram candyfloss, and honestly the heat kind of radiates off the skyscrapers and it felt an awful lot hotter than Disney did (which is by the sea). Honestly I would go at Easter rather than August.

I’m going soon and have been keeping an eye on the temperatures. August has been as high as 37 and consistently in the 30’s . That’s too hot for me especially as most tourist sites are outside

I lived in Japan for 8 years and go back to visit PILs every summer but I’m not doing it any more. It’s just such a crap time of year so we end up indoors most of the time. As a country, Japan is absolutely beautiful so it is worth being there when you can walk around outside without being overwhelmed by the heat.

Around Easter is amazing as is autumn. You could go a bit off the tourist trail to Nagasaki or Akita if you want to escape some of the tourist crowds in between your time in Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka.

DH, DC16 and I were in Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Nakasendo trail, Izu Kogen coast) in July and it was very hot and humid. 30-34C max in the daytime, often without clouds to cut down the direct sunshine and ~80% humidity.

Yes there are shops/restaurants/trains where you can get some relief with air conditioning, but we were typically outside pretty much all day visiting shrines, temples and castles or walking in the countryside. Also outside a lot at the Osaka Expo and Universal Studios. I’ve been in Kyoto during cherry blossom season and I would rather deal with the crowds (not that bad as previous posters said) than the heat. There was also torrential rain on a couple of days.

We ended up buying UV umbrellas, UV clothing/hats, a handheld fan with cooling element and traditional fans. I’d say the UV umbrellas helped the most.

Edited to add: I think this August was even hotter than July, with max temps of 37C to 38C

I’ve never been in August, so can’t advise on the heat but I have been during Easter the last two years in a row and don’t agree with the “Hell on earth” characterisation. I have found some very specific locations in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka pretty hellishly crowded, but aside from that, it’s a wonderful time to visit. We had a particularly wonderful time down in the Chugoku region this April. Next year we’re heading to the Tohoku and Hokuriku areas and expect it will be very quiet there.

Go in cherry blossom season and plan somewhere a little bit off the tourist trail, like takamatsu in Shikoku or somewhere else…or Kyushu, as well as Kyoto and Tokyo.

May is lovely, June temperatures aren’t to bad at the start of the month, but can be hit and miss depending on when the rainy season starts. I like it as I love the rain, but it might be a pain to plan day trips around,

I would say that May is one of the best times to visit.

great thanks we will plan around that.

If it helps we’ve been in October and July for 2 weeks each time. We went in July this year after GCSEs and it was fine, yes it was hot and we had a few showers, but we had showers in October. My son also just starting year 12 has asked not to go away at Easter as they have mocks early May which, as others have said form part of the predicted grades for UCAS. You have time, I’d ask school as the last thing you need is for him to be panicking while you’re away- Japan is a full on holiday with little downtime if he needed to study. It’s an in incredible place so I hope you find your time!

We went in August because of a conference. Very very humid so sight seeing was limited with lots of planned AC stops. The bigger problem was the typhoon causing flooding and shutting the airports

In terms of busyness, for the Japanese, 'Golden Week' is the big holiday in the spring and apparently everything is very busy during this time, particularly trains and attractions. Golden Week in 2026 is 29 April - 5 May.

Yes I know, so obviously after that.

florida in august is hurricane season high temps
locals from the south called redneck season

Hmm… Thanks all - Maybe we will have to brave the crowds at Easter.
We went at Easter. Sure some places were busy but there are literally loads of places that are amazing and off the beaten track where you can ho without crowds. Start following people on insta or til tok for some great ideas.

I love Japan. Have lived there and went in August last year.

I also have uni age children. I absolutely would NOT take them out of school for a week in Y12 or Y13.

We managed in August just fine. It was hot but we did everything we wanted to do.

We did Japan in the summer before our DC sat their GCSEs/A levels as neither would have entertained a week out of school across the 2 years.

it was a few years ago but I can’t remember the heat being an issue. We did Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima and back to Tokyo

I will add that we have also done Florida a few times in August and survived.