May is warm, green and, by Japanese standards, dry: Tokyo averages a high of 23.6°C (74°F) and the humidity is at its yearly low, which is why satsuki-bare, May blue sky, is a phrase. The catch is the calendar: Golden Week runs to 5 May and is the busiest travel week of the year, and Okinawa slides into its rainy season around 10 May.
This page has 58 years of Japan Meteorological Agency data for 12 cities, the events and flowers of May, what to pack, and a tool to check the odds for your travel dates.
- Tokyo: high 23.6°C (74°F), low 14.6°C (58°F), sunny days 43%, rain days 32%, 30°C days 1%, snow days 0%
- Coldest of the 12 cities: Sapporo (high 17.9°C (64°F)); warmest: Naha (Okinawa) (high 27.0°C (81°F))
- Wettest: Naha (Okinawa) (rain on 38% of days); driest: Sapporo (28%)
- Verdict: Excellent after Golden Week ends (6 May): warm, dry-ish and green.
Check the weather odds for your exact dates (58 years of records)
Choose a city, a date and a window, and the tool counts every May day since 1968 at that weather station: how often it was sunny, how often it rained or snowed, how often it hit 30°C, and what the last dozen years actually looked like. It is the same data set the rest of this page is built on, narrowed to your itinerary.
May weather in 12 Japanese cities
Japan stretches 3,000km from Hokkaido to Okinawa, so a single national figure means little. The table runs north to south. “Sunny days” is the share of days whose daytime weather log starts with clear or sunny; “rain days” is days with 1mm or more.
| City | High / low | Rain days (1mm+) | Sunny days | Rainfall | 30°C+ days | Also |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sapporo | 18 / 9°C 64°F / 48°F | 28% | 46% | 56mm | 0% | – |
| Sendai | 20 / 12°C 68°F / 53°F | 28% | 45% | 110mm | 1% | – |
| Kanazawa | 22 / 14°C 72°F / 56°F | 33% | 48% | 138mm | 2% | – |
| Tokyo | 24 / 15°C 74°F / 58°F | 32% | 43% | 140mm | 1% | – |
| Chiba (Tokyo Disney Resort) | 23 / 15°C 73°F / 60°F | 32% | 41% | 122mm | 1% | – |
| Nagoya | 25 / 15°C 76°F / 59°F | 32% | 47% | 150mm | 4% | – |
| Kyoto | 25 / 14°C 77°F / 58°F | 32% | 45% | 151mm | 7% | – |
| Osaka | 25 / 16°C 77°F / 61°F | 31% | 46% | 137mm | 2% | – |
| Hiroshima | 24 / 15°C 76°F / 59°F | 29% | 48% | 170mm | 1% | – |
| Fukuoka | 24 / 16°C 76°F / 61°F | 29% | 46% | 134mm | 2% | – |
| Nagasaki | 24 / 16°C 75°F / 61°F | 32% | 46% | 161mm | 0% | – |
| Naha (Okinawa) | 27 / 22°C 81°F / 72°F | 38% | 36% | 245mm | 6% | – |
Hokkaido and Tohoku (Sapporo, Sendai)
Hokkaido is at its freshest: lilacs, late blossoms and 18°C highs in Sapporo. Sapporo 17.9°C (64°F) / 9.0°C (48°F), rain 28%, sunny 46%; Sendai 20.2°C (68°F) / 11.7°C (53°F), rain 28%, sunny 45%.
Sea of Japan coast (Kanazawa)
Kanazawa has its driest month of the year with 33% rain days. Kanazawa 22.3°C (72°F) / 13.6°C (56°F), rain 33%, sunny 48%.
Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka
Warm, dry and bright from Tokyo to Osaka; the first 30°C days appear in Kyoto. Tokyo 23.6°C (74°F) / 14.6°C (58°F), rain 32%, sunny 43%; Kyoto 25.1°C (77°F) / 14.5°C (58°F), rain 32%, sunny 45%; Osaka 24.9°C (77°F) / 16.0°C (61°F), rain 31%, sunny 46%.
Western Japan and the south (Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Okinawa)
Kyushu is warm; Okinawa enters the rainy season around 10 May. Fukuoka 24.4°C (76°F) / 16.1°C (61°F), rain 29%, sunny 46%; Naha (Okinawa) 27.0°C (81°F) / 22.1°C (72°F), rain 38%, sunny 36%.
What May feels like, and why
Dry continental highs, before the humidity arrives. Migrating high-pressure systems bring the crisp, clear days of early May; the humidity in Tokyo is around 65%, the lowest of the year, so 24°C feels genuinely pleasant. From mid May the Pacific high starts to push north and the first hints of the rainy-season front appear over Okinawa.
Warm days, cool nights, strong sun. Tokyo lows are still 14.6°C, so evenings want a layer, but daytime is short-sleeve weather in Osaka, Kyoto and Fukuoka. The UV index averages 6 to 7, which is high; May is the month most visitors get sunburnt because it does not feel hot.
Two Japans by the end of the month. Hokkaido is at its loveliest: Sapporo highs of 18°C, lilacs, and late cherry blossoms in the first week. Okinawa, by contrast, has entered the rainy season with rain on 38% of days and highs of 27°C. The Tokyo to Kyushu corridor sits in between and is the best it will be until October.
What to pack for Japan in May
The rule of thumb: dress for Tokyo’s average low in the morning and its average high in the afternoon, then adjust north or south. Indoor spaces are heated hard in winter and cooled hard in summer, so removable layers matter in every month.
| City | Feels like | What to wear | Rain gear |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sapporo | Cool | a jacket or light coat, a sweater for mornings and evenings | folding umbrella |
| Tokyo | Mild | long sleeves or a T-shirt with a light jacket; evenings need the jacket | folding umbrella |
| Kyoto | Early summer | short sleeves by day, a light long sleeve for evenings | folding umbrella |
| Fukuoka | Mild | long sleeves or a T-shirt with a light jacket; evenings need the jacket | folding umbrella |
| Naha (Okinawa) | Early summer | short sleeves by day, a light long sleeve for evenings | umbrella essential |
- Arrive on or after 6 May if you can: the same hotel can cost half of what it does during Golden Week.
- Sunscreen and a hat are not optional; the UV index is already at summer levels.
- Pack one light layer for evenings and air-conditioned trains, and a folding umbrella (one day in three has rain).
- If Okinawa is on your itinerary, go in the first week of May, before the rainy season starts.
Events and seasonal highlights in May
- Golden Week (to 5 May): Children’s Day carp streamers on 5 May; crowds and prices peak, then drop sharply from 6 May.
- Aoi Matsuri (15 May) in Kyoto, one of the city’s three great festivals.
- Sanja Matsuri (third weekend): Tokyo’s biggest shrine festival in Asakusa.
- Wisteria, azaleas and nemophila: Hitachi Seaside Park’s blue nemophila hills peak in early May.
- Sapporo Lilac Festival (late May); cherry blossoms in Hakodate and Sapporo in the first week.
- Okinawa rainy season starts around 10 May.
Compare any two cities, month by month
Pick two of the 12 cities to see their highs, lows, rain days, sunny days, hot days and snow days side by side for the whole year. May is highlighted.
How May compares with the rest of the year in Tokyo
| Month | Tokyo high / low | Rain days | Sunny days | 30°C+ days | Snow days | Rainfall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10 / 1°C | 14% | 70% | 0% | 6% | 60mm |
| February | 11 / 2°C | 20% | 61% | 0% | 10% | 57mm |
| March | 14 / 5°C | 29% | 51% | 0% | 3% | 116mm |
| April | 19 / 10°C | 33% | 48% | 0% | 0% | 134mm |
| May | 24 / 15°C | 32% | 43% | 1% | 0% | 140mm |
| June | 26 / 18°C | 39% | 27% | 11% | 0% | 168mm |
| July | 30 / 22°C | 33% | 34% | 53% | 0% | 156mm |
| August | 31 / 24°C | 27% | 46% | 73% | 0% | 155mm |
| September | 28 / 20°C | 37% | 35% | 27% | 0% | 225mm |
| October | 22 / 15°C | 32% | 43% | 1% | 0% | 235mm |
| November | 17 / 9°C | 22% | 55% | 0% | 0% | 96mm |
| December | 12 / 4°C | 15% | 67% | 0% | 1% | 58mm |
In Tokyo, May ranks 8th of 12 for sunny days and 7th of 12 for fewest rain days. The previous month, April, averages a high of 19.4°C (67°F); the next, June, 26.1°C (79°F).
Early May is as dry as Japan gets outside winter, so a rainy forecast is worth trusting less than usual. The thing to respect is the sun: the UV index in May equals August’s, and the mild air hides it.
Frequently asked questions
How cold or hot is Japan in May?
Tokyo averages a high of 23.6°C (74°F) and a low of 14.6°C (58°F) in May. Sapporo in the north averages 17.9°C (64°F) / 9.0°C (48°F), while Naha in Okinawa averages 27.0°C (81°F) / 22.1°C (72°F). Kyoto and Osaka run a degree or two warmer than Tokyo in summer and slightly colder on winter mornings.
Does it rain a lot in Japan in May?
In Tokyo, 32% of May days get 1mm or more of rain (about 10 days), and 32% have a rainy weather log. Kyoto is at 32% of days and Naha at 38%. Sapporo records 28% of days with precipitation, much of it rain.
Is May a good month to visit Japan?
Excellent after Golden Week ends (6 May): warm, dry-ish and green. Okinawa enters its rainy season in the second week, so head south only early in the month.
Is May a good time to visit Japan?
One of the best, especially 6 to 31 May after Golden Week: warm, relatively dry, green and less crowded. Only Okinawa is a poor choice after 10 May because of its rainy season.
How hot is Japan in May?
Tokyo averages a high of 23.6°C (74°F); Osaka 24.9°C; Fukuoka 24.4°C; Sapporo 17.9°C; Naha 27°C. The first 30°C days of the year appear in Kyoto and Osaka in late May on 2 to 7% of days.
Does it rain a lot in May?
Tokyo has rain on 32% of days (about 10 days), similar to April. Rain usually comes as a day with a passing low, not all-day drizzle. Okinawa is wetter from mid month.
- Tokyo averages 23.6°C (74°F) / 14.6°C (58°F); sunny on 43% of days, rain on 32%
- North to south range: Sapporo 17.9°C (64°F) to Naha 27.0°C (81°F)
- Excellent after Golden Week ends (6 May): warm, dry-ish and green.
- Use the date tool above to check the odds for your own dates
Sources: Japan Meteorological Agency climatological normals (1991 to 2020) for temperatures, precipitation and sunshine; JMA daily observations 1968 to 2025 (58 years) compiled by this site for the share of sunny, rainy, snowy, hot and cold days. Written by a certified Japanese weather forecaster (気象予報士). Percentages are the share of days in the month; a 30 percent rain-day figure means roughly 9 days a month.