The Best Time to Travel Japan (in my opinion)

(if you saw this post before, I did try to post it but it disappeared into the void so I hope I can rewrite this one)

It's really exciting to be finishing a school year or just about finishing a school year in Japan (that's in May or June) and thinking about what to do in August when you finally get some time off. The first couple of years, I was always excited to hop on a train and travel - but then every time said day rolls around, I have extreme regret of not staying home because of how HOT it is outside.

It's hot enough just stepping outside. Now imagine needing to carry overnight clothes and a bag in the heat. An absolute nightmare.

Now you're on the train or transferring to get to the airport or the Shinkansen. You realized your other mistake: every other Japanese person is also travelling because they're also off work!

I still of course travel in the summer when I have free time, but the longer I live in Japan, the more I've made it my mission to just sti at home with my aircon on or hit a mall with friends.

And so, if I don't travel in the summer time, when do I travel?

October - November

October is prime for me because while it can still be hot, I can avoid the school crowd (for the most part - some schools still have graduation trips and what not, but these are manageable) and their family members. I've always gone to Okinawa around this time because it's still considered "summer" there.

Let me explain why that's important. Pools and beaches in Japan are only opened in the summer season. There's a summer season that's between June - October-ish in Okinawa. Go after summer season and there's a chance the pool facilities and other facilities might be closed because it's now "off season".

October is also nice up in northern Japan. You start to see the autumn leaves change colour up there. And while I still never had the pleasure to go see it myself, I would definitely love to one day. I was up in Aomori in August or September once, and the weather was hovering around the 20s. I can only imagine the temperature to go down ever so slight in October too (which is really nice).

On top of that, the Halloween parties are pretty insane the weekend before Halloween. If you're in Osaka or Tokyo one or two weekends before Halloween, grab a costume and bar hop through popular hangout spots for young people.

November is my #1 favourite as someone who lived in Osaka (and I would say this is true for people in Tokyo and Fukuoka too). Temperatures begin to go down in November, and the autumn colours start to peak then.

November is also generally the time when temples will also start to illuminate at night to display their fall colours too. It's why in Kyoto, it's quite popular to visit temples at night as many temples will get very creative with their lights along with displaying the natural colours from the leaves:

In the many years I lived there, these illuminations stay mostly the same over the years, but I never get tired of them. I just love taking photos of them and you betcha I have a HUGE storage of just autumn colours and autumn colour illumination photos. ;)

December

The illumination displays continue into December, but usually for a different reason - Christmas. Main shopping areas of cities and town will start to put up Christmas decoration and light shows. Kobe is particularly popular in this area, with Kobe Luminarie - a yearly event since 1995 that brings out locals and tourists through the streets of downtown Kobe - in memory to the Hanshin Earthquake of 1995.

Even in the countryside, you can see over-the-top (but extremely jaw dropping) light festival displays like this one in Kagawa Prefecture:

There are plenty of other ones littered all over Japan, and if you're looking for something a bit unusual or different to do in Japan, I recommend taking a car and researching where these light festivals may be close to your next city.

I generally do enjoy the Christmas vibe no matter where you are, and Japan is definitely no exception to this rule.

Don't forget to preorder yourself some KFC chicken to experience Christmas like a local!

January - February (and early March)

At this point, you're probably thinking I should just list all the months and talk about them, but I promise this will be the last set.

January is my personal favourite, especially during New Year. As a tourist, this will be a pet peeve and Jan 1st-3rd will become a shopping nightmare and a banking nightmare since most of these things will be closed. But as a resident, these things are anticipated. I'd make sure to withdraw some emergency money. And off I go on a trip!

Why would I travel around this time?

It's true, it can be a logistical nightmare if you have a car and run out of gas in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. But generally as a traveler that prefers relaxation and activities that don't require opening/closing hours (like visiting a shrine, or going to a viewpoint), it's not so bad. I visit my attractions between daylight hours, checking into my hot spring hotel by 3pm. And I'd stay at the hot spring hotel after check in (or explore the town if it's walkable).

I spent two New Years at Mt. Fuji before. Once at my friend's place. Another at a boutique hot spring hotel with this view:

No complaints. Just make sure you get half-board with your hotel stay or else you'll be spending A LOT of time looking for decent food. (and good luck with the one convenience store in town because everyone else who has no dinner will probably flock there too)

Mt. Fuji is lovely around this time not only because of the snow caps, but also because there are more clear sky days to be able to see Mt. Fuji as clear as it is in my photo. Come rainy season and summer, and there's less chances you'll catch this lump of dirt like this.

February is not only the month of love (which is a scam imo lol), but it's the month of the Snow Festival in Hokkaido and early peach/plum blossoms. Along with some early Kawazu zakura (cherry blossom) blooms in late Feb into early March.

The Snow Festival in my opinion, is a must see for seasoned Japan travelers.

I say seasoned because it does require some advance planning. Hotels can get very expensive during this period and can sell out even up to 6 months before the event. Of course, if you have a lot of free time on your hands and don't mind the rocket high prices, then ignore my advice! There are some really cool ice displays here and generally the vibe is just really cool around this time. Snowy Hokkaido is definitely one of my favourite times in Japan.

And very closely following is the plum/peace blossom season.

Some plum blossoms can be as beautiful up close as they are cherry blossoms, and I think it's underrated. Most tourists go for cherry blossom only and complete ignore these other blossoms.

And if you're here in early March, you might even catch the "Kawazu zakura", a type of cherry blossom earlier than the other variation of cherry blossom (not a cherry blossom expert, but I just know there are different variations).

The best thing about going to Yodo Suido (between Kyoto and Osaka) is that is it still sort of lesser-known spot and not many people make the trek out here despite being so close to Kyoto. I came here after work one day (I used to work pretty close to here), and while does take a bit more effort to get here than to just take an express train up to Kyoto City, in full bloom it is pretty worth it. It's just a row of trees in a residential neighbourhood. A very nice place to take a stroll and just take photos!

What do you think of my opinion of these months? Let me know why you agree or disagree!!