Japan Top 10

Japan has five seasons: Summer, fall, winter, spring – and the rainy season (梅雨 “tsuyu” in Japanese – the characters mean “rain every day”). And that is what it is.

The rainy season is (usually, because the climate is changing and few things are normal anymore) wedged between the end of spring and the beginning of summer, taking up the end of May and the beginning of June, usually five to six weeks.

In southern Japan, especially in Kyushu, it really rains every day. And it rains a lot – more rain than the region will see during the rest of the year during those few weeks is not uncommon. In the Tokyo area, you will have rainy days, days without rain, and days with a little rain and a little sunshine. In Tohoku, the rainy season is more like a few showers, and Hokkaido does not have it at all.

During the rainy season temperatures are usually in the 20-25 centigrade range. The temperature starts to creep up – the new normal seems to be a few days with up to 30 degrees centigrade already in April. But then temperatures go down when it rains.

To dress right for the rainy season, you need waterproof shoes, so your feet does not get wet from all the rain. Maybe not rubber boots, although that is not a bad idea. And you need good socks, and a light waterproof windbreaker. But other than that, you can dress normally.

The rainy season takes over from spring and continues until the heat of summer starts – or the first typhoon arrives. Typhoons always carry enormous amounts of rain and very strong winds, and they have started to be stronger and appear earlier in the year.

But then the rainy season will be over.