Japan in August
Obon in mid-August, the festival of the dead: Japanese travelers are on the move too, and it becomes one of the busiest months of the year. The month we'd tell a first-time visitor to skip. Peak heat, peak humidity, and the first typhoons of the season.
In Tokyo, 31°C (88°F) in the afternoon and 24°C (75°F) at night on average, while at the same moment Sapporo sits at 26°C (79°F) and Naha at 32°C (90°F). Across the cities we track, this is one of the four months when hotels are fullest.
Japan weather in August, north to south
| City | Afternoon / night | Rain or snow |
|---|---|---|
| Sapporo north (Hokkaido) | 26°C (79°F) / 19°C (66°F) | about average 127 mm, one day in 3 |
| Tokyo central (Kanto) | 31°C (88°F) / 24°C (75°F) | very wet 155 mm, one day in 4 |
| Kyoto central (Kansai) | 34°C (93°F) / 25°C (77°F) | very wet 154 mm, one day in 4 |
| Osaka central (Kansai) | 34°C (93°F) / 26°C (79°F) | about average 113 mm, one day in 4 |
| Naha far south (Okinawa) | 32°C (90°F) / 27°C (81°F) | very wet 240 mm, one day in 3 |
August and September are the two months when typhoons come closest to Japan: 3.3 on average, against 0.8 in June. See the four seasons on the pillar page
Thirty-year averages (1991-2020) recorded by the Japan Meteorological Agency, which tell you the month's usual climate and not the weather you will actually get on the dates you have chosen. Last checked August 8, 2026.
Roughly what it costs
We earn a commission on some of the links on this page, and it costs you nothing extra: the price you see is the price you would get without us. It does not change what we recommend.
The dates in August
August 2027 has one public holiday and 4 dates when something is happening, and the night before that holiday is the most expensive of the month: ryokan charge their Saturday rate for it.
Giant illuminated floats parade through central Aomori each evening. Dancers surround them, and you can join in costume.
Thousands of colored paper decorations cover the shopping streets of central Sendai.
It falls in the run-up to Obon, the busiest stretch of the summer on the roads and the trains.
Troupes of dancers move through the streets of central Tokushima each evening, until late in the night.
The bon-odori are danced in the evening, in neighborhoods and at temples, while the trains and the expressways are saturated by the journeys back to the family home town.
If your dates can move: shift by a day to miss the nights before a holiday, once booking opens.
If they are fixed: those nights will be the first to go on the day booking opens. The rest of the month can wait.
Where to start
The order matters more than how early you get to it.
Kyoto and the small stops first
Kyoto, Kanazawa, Takayama, and any night in a ryokan: few rooms, and the whole of Japan is aiming at the same dates, so this is where it is decided first, not in Tokyo.
Tokyo and Osaka can wait
Tens of thousands of rooms. These cities are never really full. The simplest approach is still to book it all in one go, on free cancellation rates for whatever might still move.
Three questions about August
Is August hot in Japan? In Tokyo, 31°C (88°F) in the afternoon and 24°C (75°F) at night on average, while at the same moment Sapporo sits at 26°C (79°F) and Naha at 32°C (90°F). August and September are the two months when typhoons come closest to Japan: 3.3 on average, against 0.8 in June.
Is August cheaper? Across the cities we track, this is one of the four months when hotels are fullest. The price range for the month is in the budget block, city by city.
Do typhoons really reach Japan in August? Yes. August and September are the two months when they come closest to the country. It is also the hottest stretch of the year, with the humidity on top.
Going further
Climbing Mt Fuji: four trails, two rulebooks
Four trails reach the summit, under two rulebooks. The one you reach from Tokyo shuts at 4,000 climbers a day; the other three demand a briefing first.
CalendarThe worst time to visit Japan, week by week
Three weeks carry almost all of the pressure, and one of them is not even a public holiday. The other 49 are far more open than the month-level lists suggest.
CalendarHow to book hotels in Japan: when sales open
The costly mistake is reading an empty calendar as a full one. Inns open about 6 months out, train seats 1 month out, and nothing exists before that.
Which site to book on
Every site holds a different slice of Japan. We tell you which one holds what.
See who gives access to what →What a ryokan rate includes
It counts people rather than rooms, and dinner is nearly always inside it, served at a fixed time that you pick when you book rather than on the evening itself.
Read the ryokan page →Bookings for your dates open on a fixed date. We write that day.
Say you're after the cherry blossoms in April 2027: ryokan inns open around October. On the day, you get an email, you book, and it's done.
Temperature and rainfall: 1991-2020 normals from the Japan Meteorological Agency. Occupancy from Japan's official tourism statistics, public holidays from the official calendar. Tanuki Trip never books on your behalf. You book it yourself, wherever you want.