Japan in September

Still hot; typhoon peak can cancel flights and ferries for a day or two.

• Hokkaidō · Sapporo, Nisekobest weather

  Snow Dec–Mar (ski season); the only main region without a real rainy season.

• Honshū cities · Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshimastorm or typhoon risk

  Rainy season June to mid-July; humid heat July–August; typhoon risk peaks in September.

• Okinawa · Naha, Ishigakistorm or typhoon risk

  Subtropical; rainy season May–June, typhoons July–September.

• Kansai: Kyoto / Osaka · Kansai basin and baystorm or typhoon risk

  Rainy season (tsuyu) June to mid-July; Kyoto's basin holds heat — 35 °C+ days in August; typhoons Aug–Sep can shut KIX for a day.

• Kyoto29° / 20°, 11 rain days
• Osaka30° / 22°, 10 rain days
• Tokyo28° / 20°, 12 rain days
• Nagoya29° / 21°, 12 rain days

Dates as our data lists them. Moving holidays (lunar and Islamic calendars, Easter) shift every year: check the date for your year before you build a trip on it.

• Silver Week

  Mid-Sep (some years a 5-day run)

  Long weekends fill trains and hotels in years when holidays line up.

• Typhoon season

  Peaks late August–September · Osaka

  Trains and KIX flights can stop for a day; watch the forecast two days out.

• Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri check

  Mid-September weekend; a second round in October in nearby districts (check) · Osaka

  Heavy wooden floats pulled at a run round corners; trains packed.

• Grand Sumo tournaments check

  15 days, starting the second Sunday of the month · Tokyo

  Tickets sell out on release weekends; same-day unreserved seats in small numbers (check).

Crowds · Japan

Medium

Prices · Japan

Medium

• A rain jacket or umbrella and shoes that dry fast
• A spare day in the plan: storms can cancel flights and ferries

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Rated best or good this month

• Hokkaidō

  Best weather of the year (Sapporo, Niseko)

• Sapporo

  Best months: Jun–Sep for cool summers, Dec–Feb for snow and the festival

Better another month

• Honshū cities

  Rainy season June to mid-July; humid heat July–August; typhoon risk peaks in September.

• Okinawa

  Subtropical; rainy season May–June, typhoons July–September.