Best Time to Visit Kyoto, Month by Month

For comfortable weather, go in April to early May or from late October to November, when average highs run between about 17°C and 25°C. Those are also the busy weeks. Kyoto City’s tourism association names three crowd peaks: cherry blossom season (late March to early April), autumn leaf season (mid-November to early December) and mid-July, when the Gion Matsuri is on. The weather and the crowds pull against each other, so the best weather and the biggest crowds tend to arrive together.

How to choose

• Best weather: April to early May, and late October to November. November is the driest of the autumn months, at 74 mm.
• Cherry blossom: late March to early April, with the heaviest crowds. See the cherry blossom guide.
• Autumn leaves: mid-November to early December, also crowded. See the autumn colour guide.
• Festivals: the Aoi Matsuri on 15 May, the Gion Matsuri through July, the Gozan Okuribi bonfires on 16 August and the Jidai Matsuri on 22 October.
• Hottest and most humid: July and August, with highs of 32.0°C and 33.7°C.
• Coldest: January and February, with highs near 9°C to 10°C and lows near 1.5°C.

Kyoto month by month

The temperatures and rainfall are the Japan Meteorological Agency’s 1991 to 2020 averages for Kyoto, as set out in the Kyoto weather by month guide. They’re averages, so a given week can run several degrees either side, and you shouldn’t plan around one number.

January

Average high 9.1°C, low 1.5°C, 53 mm of rain over 6.4 days. The Kyoto Imperial Palace is closed from 28 December to 4 January, and Gion Corner runs Tuesday to Friday only from 1 December to 11 March, and is closed from 26 December to 4 January. The tourism site says it’s very rare for snow to pile up on the ground in January and February.

February

Average high 10.0°C, low 1.6°C, 65 mm of rain over 7.3 days. Cold and fairly dry, and not one of the three crowd peaks.

March

Average high 14.1°C, low 4.3°C, 106 mm of rain over 9.5 days. Late March is when the cherry blossom crowds start, and the blossom itself is covered in the cherry blossom guide.

April

Average high 20.1°C, low 9.2°C, 117 mm of rain over 9.4 days. Early April is still cherry blossom season, with crowds to match, and the weather is easy for a full day of temples.

May

Average high 25.1°C, low 14.5°C, 151 mm of rain over 9.7 days. The Aoi Matsuri procession is on 15 May. The Pontocho Kaburenjo hosts the Kamogawa Odori geisha dances in May.

June

Average high 28.1°C, low 19.2°C, 200 mm of rain over 11.5 days. The wet days suit the indoor places in the rainy day guide.

July

Average high 32.0°C, low 23.6°C, 224 mm of rain over 11.6 days, the wettest month in the table. The Gion Matsuri runs from 1 to 31 July. The evening street gatherings (yoiyama) are on 14 to 16 July and 21 to 23 July, and the float processions are on 17 and 24 July. Mid-July is one of the busy periods the tourism association names.

August

Average high 33.7°C, low 24.7°C, 154 mm of rain over 8.3 days. The hottest month, so plan temples and walks for the morning with the early morning guide. The Gozan Okuribi bonfires are on 16 August.

September

Average high 29.2°C, low 20.7°C, 178 mm of rain over 9.8 days. Still hot and wet, and not one of the three crowd peaks.

October

Average high 23.4°C, low 14.4°C, 143 mm of rain over 8.2 days. Cooler, and easy for walking. The Jidai Matsuri costume procession is on 22 October, and the autumn colour guide covers the leaf season that follows.

November

Average high 17.3°C, low 8.4°C, 74 mm of rain over 6.3 days. The driest of the autumn months, and the heart of leaf season from mid-November. Bring a jacket for mornings and evenings. Buses to Kiyomizu-dera, Gion and Arashiyama fill up, so the travel tips cover how to get around them.

December

Average high 11.6°C, low 3.5°C, 57 mm of rain over 6.6 days. Leaf season runs into early December. The Imperial Palace closes from 28 December, and Nijo Castle from 29 December, for the New Year break.

Dodging the crowds

The tourism association says the suburbs have fewer people than the inner city even in leaf season, so see the day trips guide for Ohara and Takao. If you’re there in a peak week anyway, the where to stay in Kyoto guide covers which areas suit a short, busy trip.

Check what’s on for your dates

Festival dates shift and markets run on their own calendars, so use the live pages instead of a fixed list. The events calendar shows what’s on for the month you pick, and this weekend shows the next few days. The map puts it all next to the sights, and live music lists gigs by venue.

Once you know when, work out how many days to stay, build a route from the Kyoto itinerary, and check what it costs. For getting in, see the airport guide, and for transport savings, Kyoto passes.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best month to visit Kyoto?

April and November have the best mix of mild weather and big seasonal sights, and both are busy. If you’d rather avoid the peaks, pick a month outside the three crowd windows.

When is the cheapest time to visit Kyoto?

There’s no hotel price index for Kyoto here, so this page can’t say. What the tourism association does say is that cherry blossom season, leaf season and mid-July are the crowded periods. Start with where to stay.

When are the cherry blossoms in Kyoto?

Late March to early April is the cherry blossom season the tourism association names. The cherry blossom guide has the spots.

When are the autumn leaves in Kyoto?

Mid-November to early December is the autumn leaf season, per the tourism association. See the autumn colour guide.

Is summer a bad time to visit Kyoto?

It’s hot and humid, with August averaging 33.7°C by day and July the wettest month at 224 mm. It’s also the time of the Gion Matsuri and the Gozan Okuribi fires. Go early in the day and keep afternoons for museums and the indoor places in the rainy day guide.

Places in this guide

Photos show the actual places, licensed under Creative Commons and credited to their photographers.

Chion-in Gion · near Higashiyama Station Photo: Christian Kadluba Doshisha University Imadegawa Campus Imperial Palace · near Imadegawa Station Photo: 663highland / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Arashiyama · near Saga-Arashiyama Station Photo: Zairon / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0) Coffee House Jittoku Nijo · near Horikawa Marutamachi bus stop Station Photo: Keisuke Mutoh Ohara Ohara · near Ohara bus stop Station Photo: t-mizo Jingo-ji Takao · near Takao bus stop Station Photo: Nankou Oronain / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)