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Spring In Japan (March - May)
Spring season in Japan lasts from March to May. It is a popular season to see the cherry blossom in bloom all over the country. There are the famous places to see them like Ueno Park in Tokyo or Kiyomizudera in Kyoto, but it is not the only plant blooming in the season. There is the wisteria, also known as fuji in Japanese, that blooms around the beginning of May. The Wisteria Tunnel at Kawachi Fuji Gardens is worth the trip to see the flower. It is a sight that will leave people breathless. Let us not forget the Fuji Shibazakura Festival by the Fuji Five Lakes. It is a festival where millions of bright colored moss phlox are in season and are arranged in a beautiful way. Imagine seeing this field with the majestic Mount Fuji in the background. It is also a time when azaleas are in season too and can be seen at the Mifuneyama Rakuen. There are also a few festivals that happen around this time that attract thousands of people. The Takayama Spring Festival has elegant and elaborate yatai (floats) parading around the town. It is a sight that makes you appreciate the hundreds of years of craftsmanship put into these floats. Another festival that keeps alive historical times is the Kyoto Aoi Festival. The festival has a procession where 500 people are dressed in clothes based on the Heian Period (794-1185). There are plenty of places to see and go around the season for people who like the spring season.
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Cherry blossoms are considered the national flower and have been the center for many pieces of artwork in Japan. The flower can also be seen on one of the sides of the 100 yen. The cherry blossoms are not only popular with the natives, but with foreigners too.
Mifuneyama Rakuen is a park in Saga Prefecture and covers 150,000 squares meters. It is best to visit this place in the spring time when the cherry blossoms and azaleas are in full bloom. It is a colorful sight to behold that will leave anyone in awe.
Ueno Park is one of the most popular and crowded spots during the cherry blossom season in Tokyo. It is known for the 1000 cherry blossom trees lined up on the road to the main entrance.
Maruyama Park is a public park that becomes a popular spot for cherry blossom hanami (flower viewing) in April. It is located next to the Yasaka Shrine in the south eastern part of Kyoto.
Miyako Odori is a special performance that can only be seen in spring when the cherry blossoms are in season. For one month (April 1st-30th) people can enjoy a dance performance by maiko and geisha. It is a performance that has been around for more than 100 years.
Takayama Spring Festival is annually held on April 14th and 15th. It is considered one of the three most beautiful festivals in Japan. The yatai (floats) embody the hundreds of years of craftsmanship in the Takayama area and rivals the Yomeimon Gate of the Toshogu Shrine in Nikko.
The Wisteria Tunnel at Kawachi Fuji Gardens is covered with the trellises of the flower. Different colored wisteria hang from the tunnel giving it a rainbow look as you continue through the area. At the end you will be greeted with 100 year old wisteria trees.
The Great Wisteria in Ashikaga Flower Park is over 150 years old. It is so large that it covers over 1000 square meters, which is over 600 tatami mats. The branches are supported by many beams in order compensate for the weight of the vines when the flower is in season.
Fuji Shibazakura Festival is located three kilometers from Lake Motosuko. It is a festival that lasts for more than one month and features over 800,000 moss phlox flowers.
Visit the famous and long demanded Alpine Route in Japanese Alps. Requiring varying modes of transportation, this route takes you through mountains and valleys for some of the most scenic views in all of Japan.
The Kyoto Aoi Festival is one of the most famous festivals in the city. It is annually held on May 15 and is the festival of the two Kamo Shrines. The Kyoto Aoi Festival recreates a procession of officials who are delivering a message from the Emperor to the shrines.
Cherry Blossoms in Tohoku usually start blooming around mid-April to early May depending on which area you are looking at.
Hokkaido is the last area where cherry blossoms bloom. The season usually begins in early to mid-May.
Matsumae Cherry Blossom Festival is held from the end of April to late May. The cherry blossom festival is held at Matsumae Park.
There are two festivals in Hokkaido that celebrates the beautiful shibazakura flowers called the Shibazakura Festival. Both the Takinoue Park and the Higashimokoto Park in Hokkaido celebrates the shibazakura and holds a festival dedicated to the flower every year.
There are over 4.5 million baby blue eyes flowers at the Hitachi Seaside Park in Ibaraki Prefecture. The flower blooms from mid-April to mid-May.
Summer In Japan (June - August)
Summertime in Japan is humid and hot. Regardless of the climate it is the time when some of the greatest festivals happen. The Tohoku region has the Three Great Summer Festivals, which are located in Aomori, Akita and Sendai. Aomori Nebuta Festival has parades of large lanterns made out of paper. It takes a full year to create one of the floats and the designs are based on folklore or historical figures. During the procession you are allowed to join as a dancer as long as you have the proper outfit, which can be purchased. The Akita Kanto Festival is a spectacle to admire as groups of individuals balance long bamboo poles with lanterns on their head, hip, shoulder, and hand. These poles can weigh over 100 pounds and it will leave your heart racing as you watch them balance the props. The Sendai Tanabata Festival has giant streamers decorating the shopping arcades and festivities happening all over downtown. It is also known as the star festival and you can see many bamboo attached with the wishes of different individuals. In other areas of Japan there is the Gion Festival, which is a month long celebration in Kyoto. There are processions that happen on different dates and there are times when you can watch the people assemble the floats without the use of nails as it is tradition. Summer is the time when lavenders are in season. One of the best places to see them in mass is in Hokkaido. The weather will be nice and cool for those that travel there in the summer.
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The lavender season in Hokkaido is a great way to escape the humid summer weather that encompasses many parts of Japan.
The Gion Summer Festival is Kyoto’s largest annual festival. It is a celebration that lasts for the whole month of July with different events happening.
Nebuta matsuri is a large papier mache lantern float parade in Aomori and is one of the three largest festivals in the Tohoku region.
The Kanto Matsuri is one of the three great festivals in the Tohoku region and it is an event about praying for a bountiful harvest.
Sendai Tanabata Matsuri is one of the Three Great Summer Festivals in Tohoku and draws a couple of million people to the event.
A colorful firework display lights up the night during the Tanabata Festival, also known as the Star Festival, which is celebrated in Japan on July 7th.
Awa Odori is a large dance festival in Tokushima Prefecture that happens on August 12th-15th as part of the Obon season.
Autumn In Japan (September - November)
Autumn season in Japan is a time where everything you had seen before changes color. When traveling around the nation the famous sites are surrounded with colors of red, brown, yellow and green. It is the added autumn hues that make it more special than in other times in the year. The weather is cooler, but not too much that you are shivering. The Shrines and Temples of Nikko are majestic around this time. The UNESCO World Heritage Site would be surrounded by autumn leaves and a gentle gust would cause them to fall as you walk under pass the trees. It is like the world has returned to a peaceful serenity as you watch the bright maple leaves fall. The extra charm of the autumn season makes any destination in Japan more special than usual. In Takayama the autumn festival features a different set of yatai (floats) that is meant to compliment the season. The floats are elaborately decorated and showcase the famous craftsmanship of Takayama. Even visiting the various sites of Kyoto in the autumn season gives off a different feeling compared to other seasons.
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Autumn leaves in Japan are almost as popular as the cherry blossom season. Visiting the country around this time is like you are entering a world blanketed in multi- colored leaves.
The Takayama Autumn Festival is annually held on October 9th and 10th. It is considered one of the three most beautiful festivals in Japan.
The Obara Shikizakura Festival offers the most enchanting scenes spring and fall, where cherry blossoms and autumn leaves mix in a delightful celebration.
Winter In Japan (December - February)
Winter season in Japan has heavy snowfall in some areas. This means you can see some great natural sights around Japan. In Nagano you can see the snow monkeys relaxing in the onsens (hot springs) in the area. Zao in Yamagata Prefecture has the snow monsters all around the mountain. This refers to the trees that get encased in snow and ice creating these figures that look like some sort of monster. There is even a festival around this time centered on the Zao Snow Monsters. Further up north at the shores of Abashiri is the ryuhyo (drift ice). It is when big chunks of frozen water gather together making it look like it is frozen. There are ice breaking cruises that goes through the water and you can see the spectacle up close. You can even go Wakasagi Smelt Fishing in some areas in Hokkaido, which is the equivalent of ice fishing, but they fry the small fish onsite. Aside from the natural occurrences let us not forget the large winter festivals happening. The Sapporo Snow Festival is one of the largest in Japan. It is a full week of winter festivities ranging from ice sculpting to slides made out of snow. Even the stages used for performances are made out of snow and at night the snow sculptures are illuminated. There is also the Otaru Snow Light Path in the nearby city that has many snow lanterns scattered around the city of Otaru. It is a romantic type of celebration, but it does not stop you from enjoying the lights.
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Snow Monkeys in Japan are also known as Japanese Macaque. These types of primates live in areas where for months on end are covered in snow.
Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival starts at the end of January and lasts all the way to mid-February.
For one week in February in Hokkaido’s capital, Sapporo, a winter event is held called Sapporo Snow Festival also known as Sapporo Yuki Matsuri.
Otaru Snow Light Path is a festival that lasts for 10 days with lanterns made of snow adorning different areas of the city.
The Asahikawa Winter Festival is the second largest snow festival in Hokkaido and is famous for having the largest snow sculptures.
The Sounkyo Ice Waterfall Festival lasts from the end of January all the way to the end of March.
The drift ice of Abashiri start appearing around January, but the best time to see the spectacle is in February when it is the coldest.
Wakasagi is the Japanese word for fresh water smelt fish. There are many places that offer you the opportunity go Wakasagi Smelt Fishing in Japan.
Kawazu Cherry Blossom Festival is usually held from early February to early March. On the Izu Peninsula you can find the Kawazu city, which attracts more than 1.5 million visitors for their festival.
