When to go · Kyoto
Kyoto in July
Mixed month. Heat + Gion Matsuri crowds.
Key facts
- Verdict
- Mixed
- Temperature
- 32° / 23°
- average high / low
- Rain days
- 13
- Crowds
- Medium
- Japan overall
- Prices
- Medium
- Japan overall
Verdict
Heat + Gion Matsuri crowds.
Weather in July
- KyotoHighs around 32 °C, lows around 23 °C, rain on about 13 days
- Honshū cities, Japan · Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshimahot
Rainy season June to mid-July; humid heat July–August; typhoon risk peaks in September.
Summer season
Gion Matsuri floats through July (processions on 17 and 24 July), riverside dining platforms, the Daimonji bonfires on 16 August.
Watch: 35 °C basin heat; June rain.
Festivals and holidays
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.
Gion Matsuri
July (peaks Jul 14–17 and Jul 24)
Central Shijō streets close for floats; very crowded evenings; heat.
Crowds and prices
- Crowds · Japan overall
- Medium
- Prices · Japan overall
- Medium
- Room rates · Kyoto
- Peak
- Gion Matsuri: 14–17 and 21–24 Jul are the tight nights.
Japan overall: Rain ends mid-month then the heat begins; festivals everywhere.
High-price month: see what to book ahead.
What to pack
- Light, breathable clothes, a sun hat and sunscreen
- A rain jacket or umbrella and shoes that dry fast