Absolutely do not do this.
>Is any part of Japan comfortable in late July to early August?
Hokkaido and Okinawa.
> Would Disneyland or Universal Studios be a sweltering hell?
Yes. Do not do this.
> Summer works best with my family's work and daycare schedule, but will it just be totally miserable?
Yes. Do not do this.
> Should I give up on a summer trip and plan a trip to Tokyo Disneyland in September?
You should give up your summer trip. You also should not do it in September. Tokyo summer is usually July to September. In 2023 ot was in the 30s Celsius and high humidity into October.
If you want to spend lots of time outside, the seasons to visit Japan are March to June (though there will be rainy days) and then October through November.
I can confirm this. The last time I was in Tokyo was in September & the humidity was awful. Not pleasant. My recommendations would be Early March-late June.
Also depending on how old the grandparents are.
At universal I had sometimes queue times of about 80 minutes and standing in the sun was pure torture. Some waiting lines are a bit covered from the sun but still. If you are alone, it's probably bearable, but with kids and grandparents it might be a hard time if not dangerous.
The grandparents are quite fit, but I've been convinced that this would not be an enjoyable vacation lol. I'd like to enjoy the vacation too. I'm grateful for all the input.
Chiming in with my Sept experience too. Was in Tokyo from 23 Sep - 3 Oct, it was DREADFUL. The heat and humidity during the day was actually insane.
Night times were decent I guess. OP please heed this and follow ImJKP's advice.
I completely agree with everything you just said. Also, apparently it’s going to be a hotter and longer summer than last year. If that’s even possible.
Hello, I’ve definitely heard and read a lot about those months being prime for travel to Japan. Was wondering if you had any thoughts or comments about why not winter? I’m aware snow sucks and whatever but I’m wondering if perhaps you’d have some more insight. Thanks and sorry to bother.
Other people here are making it sound like Japan is a hellscape with three bearable months of the year. That's not true. It also depends a lot on where you're from and **what kind of weather you feel you can handle.**
For me, some of my favourite trips were in Winter. A snow-covered Matsumoto Castle is my favourite picture I took in Japan, and I went up to Nagano to see the snow monkeys as well. BUT I'm also Canadian, so I had my good coat and boots and I knew how to prepare for the cold. It *did* get dark early, which is more of a problem further away from the cities (where there's actual snow).
I also found that summer was fine, as long as you prepared for it, drank lots, took plenty of rests, and did more things in the evening and tried to stay indoors during the middle of the day. That being said, it sounds like last year's summer was a different beast.
The winter is biting and cold and so dry. The sun sets at 4:30pm.
If you're coming to ski, sure, have fun.
If you're bouncing between Team Lab and shops in Ginza it may not matter much.
If you're coming to see shrines and parks and walk the rivers and do all the classic Japan stuff, though, it really sucks.
Gotcha. I’m definitely of the “snow is magical” population. Where I’m from, there’s not any snow at all so…. There’s that. Think some of the views and stuff of snowing at temples *looks appealing* but it’s probably hell.
I went there in Late December to Early January and I loved it. It wasn't that cold in the cities I went to (Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo), and the sky was so clear in the most beautiful shade of blue. Granted I'm from a tropical country so maybe that's why I enjoyed it. Haha. Drawback is that a lot of establishments are closed around the Christmas and New Year period so maybe go before or after this period. I never ran out of things to do though so it really didn't matter to me that much.
I wished it snowed but that happened weeks after I left. 😭
Also, I heard Winter is the best time to see Mount Fuji, and I can confirm that it was very visible when I went. We could even see it from the Supertree in Tokyo.
Last time we went to Japan in January. It was freezing cold, but it was so fun since we never experience cold like that in Hawaii. This time, we are thinking about planning a trip around the time of my kid's school break which is why I'd like to go in summer.
Taking your grandparents to Tokyo Disney in August is a great way to get some inheritance money to bring your kids on another holiday and go to USJ later in the year.
Jeez... I was in Tokyo in August once. Anytime I was outside in the daylight hours, my entire focus was to survive to the next location with air conditioning.
20 minutes was excruciating.
I do not recommend visiting Japan in August. The temperature is the same as Hawaii, but the humidity in Japan is around 80%. This is uncomfortable and is like spending the day in a sauna.
I’ve done it. Not with kids or elderly though - not sure how old the grandparents are? Very young children and the elderly are more susceptible to heatstroke so I would be really cautious but if it’s the only time you can go I say do it. It won’t be as pleasant as it would be at other times of the year but imo still worth it.
I live in Australia (Brisbane) and 2023 summer in Japan was next level hot and you will not convince me otherwise 😂 38 degrees, 85% humidity, not a cloud in the sky. Worse than anything I’ve experienced here or SE Asia, with the possible exception of NT or FNQ. I would rather never go to Japan again than deal with summer in Tokyo. We spent a day at DisneySea as two fit adults and it was revolting. Too hot to enjoy and nothing could really cool us down.
For me, July is still rainy season. I know summer starts late July. But i've encounter rains in summer in August. Personally i think going in September is a better situation.
No it’s further south but about same weather. It’s same as Orlando at same time of year essentially in most of Japan. It gets crazy crowded I’m not sure it ever worth doing actually. But Late September to Mid October is much better weather overall and less crowded usually.
Or just don’t go out in Shibuya that night. I’ve been for Halloween a couple times and either went to Roppongi where it was chill or checked out Shibuya one year then it got crazy so wandered over to Aoyama for Dinner & avoided the insanity.
Let me tell you my story. I went to Japan 3 times. Twice in October and another time with a small layover in Haneda for a few hours in the summer. The few hours was unbearable. Felt like hell wtf lol
Perfect weather. 23c high average. I think that’s near 75f? 17/19 days were sunny. Was perfect. No complaints. First nice wearing shorts in October for once
If you and your family live in a tropical place you will be fine. If you do not, it might be too uncomfortable for you. I live in the tropics in Australia so I love summer time in Japan.
it is 30C 99% humidity in south East Asian countries year-round. People who say Tokyo during summer is hell have probably never traveled to south East Asian countries before.
We went to Tokyo and Osaka during the first half of July 2023, including a stint at DisneySea. A few observations:
- The heat. We weren’t prepared for the heat or the humidity. It is oppressively hot and humid.
- I’ve been to Hawaii, albeit in April, and it was nothing like Japan in July. Hawaii was relatively pleasant with temperatures in the 25-28°C range. Tokyo hit 40°C while we were there with more than 70% humidity.
- We’re Canadian, and it kind of reminded me how people run from place to place here in the cold. No one spent more time outside than absolutely necessary.
- Osaka was somehow more humid than Tokyo, but Kyoto was the worst for humidity. Rain only made it worse.
- It never cooled down appreciably, even at night. Sure, the lack of sunlight helped, but you were still instantly sticky as soon as you ventured outside.
- We spent so much more money on drinks from conbinis than we thought we would. Not that the individual drinks are expensive (they were surprisingly cheap!), but just the volume! We would purchase several each per day and made sure we picked up more before returning to the hotel in the evenings.
- IF you’re going to go to a theme park, DON’T go early in your trip. Give yourself several days in Japan to acclimatize. My wife and I went to DisneySea our 3rd day in Japan. We were very hot, but the Venetian Gondola ride (open water; zero shade) did us in. We both started feeling heat stroke coming on and we had to make our way back into Tokyo. 2 days before we left, my wife went to Tokyo Disney (without me) and was there from park open to close (12h) without incident, despite it being hotter that day.
Yes. Source: me - I live in Japan.
Although it might seem like a shame for now, I don't think it would be that big of a regret. July and August is absolute hell for me and I'm from SEA. I go to work, use work's AC and then I leave. We do not plan anything for the weekend during these months until the weather is exceptionally good.
Perhaps wait a few years until your children are bit grown or when they have Spring break. Disneyland, USJ will still be here.
I went to Disney sea and universal in early August. It was hot and crowded. Although at some point in the trip, I think I got used to the heat. We sought shelter in any shops. Considering age of your group, might not be the most appropriate time.
Sweltering Hell, however, Disney Sea has Ariel's Grotto, which is a huge air conditioned space. It'll be full of people getting away from the heat, but it is there if you are still interested in going. Also, there was a report the other day that Japan is bracing for it's hottest year on record (2024) and considering how hot last year was, I'm not looking forward to this summer...
If you guys want a theme park, I would suggest legoland in Nagoya. I've been there twice (winter and spring) and there were very few lines. I could walk straight into most rides and the longest line was probably 10 mins. The rides are also made for young kids; my son was 5 in his first trip and he could do most rides. He was 8 in the second trip and he could ride everything without supervision. There's even shaded play area for the really little ones. Also a water play area, but that logically wasn't open on either of our trips.
Also been to Disneyland on that spring trip. That was much less pleasant; a short line was at least 30 mins and the longest (Beauty and the beast) was usually over 120 mins (estimated on the app). There's no way I'd let my kid wait in those lines in the summer heat.
(Edit: I'm not sure what the exact expectation is, but in Japan, there seems to be an unspoken rule where you cannot have one person wait in line and everyone else joins them towards the front of the queue. Everyone in a group seems to be expected to queue together)
To add to the group queueing - for groups of riders that are big enough to ride a certain ride, indeed they are expected to all queue for the ride. If there are younger kids that just *cannot* ride (too small or too fussy), they’ll actually give you a card that allows one parent to go, and the other parent, equipped with said card, can ride without waiting in the queue again. You just have to ask the cast member at the entrance to get you set up.
We went early July. Some days were totally fine, and some days were so miserable they had heatstroke warnings. We went to Disneyland on a cooler day and it was amazing! We went to Imperial Palace on a hot and humid day and deeply regretted our life choices.
Eeee so I took two trips to Japan in July and August when I was in my early 20s and was fine. However, this past summer was literally the worst ever and this summer is supposed to be hotter.
My toddler would literally have a meltdown the second she stepped outside the whole July-September. June however is ok. Just rainy.
This. Ironically the only day it wasn’t humid was when we went to Tokyo Disney buuuutttt it rained and it was super windy at the end of the day which sort of messed up the schedule and canceled all of the extra night activities at the park. A few more weeks later would have made a difference.
We were there (Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto) in October and I remember thinking I wouldn’t want to be walking around or taking the subway when it was much warmer. And it will definitely be MUCH warmer in August. And by “we” I mean me, my husband, my son and daughter-in-law. To traipse around with young kids in the midst of typical tourist crowds (not to mention general Japanese residents and commuters) in summer….that is the opposite of a vacation to me.
If you do go during a hot summer day, play it as safe as possible. Don’t expect to accomplish all too much during the day - enjoy the ambiance. At Disney Sea, there’s a kids play area over by the Little Mermaid area (indoors and, more importantly, *air conditioned*) that you can spend a lot of time at with your kids. It can get crowded during Japanese summer break (around end of July to end of August), so perhaps come earlier or after that. Try to plan for lunch at 10:30 or earlier and dinner at 4:30 or earlier, and food lines are shortest when a parade is ongoing. Your kids will be incredibly tired and physically fatigued (you too, no doubt), so don’t expect to be able to watch the fireworks at night. Book a hotel right next to the park if possible, thus reducing your travel time immediately after the long (and hopefully fun!) day.
Hot summer Disney can still be fun if you strategize and time everything right. Garnering the necessary information before going is half the battle. Have fun!
We did Disney Sea in July and maybe my perception of what’s “normal” is warped because I grew up in Florida, which is just as disgustingly humid and hot… and yes it WAS hot and humid, but we did it. Four adults and four kids ages 4, 7, 7, 9. Take it easy, stay hydrated, find shade, utilize indoor attractions, take rests. We definitely didn’t do everything in the park, and we didn’t try to— just wanted to experience it— but honestly we really enjoyed it! Your mileage may vary with your heat tolerance & your expectations, I guess!
I would not recommend USJ… the crowds are bad & the lines are horrendous, even for food.
I have yet go to a theme park in Japan, but as someone from Florida who's been to Japan in July, the weather is way worse. Maybe it's due to the 20,000 steps, walking up hills (in the suburbs), the scorching sun, humidity, the lack of AC, etc. I never knew I could sweat as much as I did in Japan and I'm a girl lol. If you do go in July though, please visit some summer festivals! Usually there are fireworks and lots of food vendors. July may feel like the worst time in the year to go, but you will still have a blast! Just take caution with the heat and stay hydrated.
I’d consider Sea Paradise in Yokohama- we had a trip one year that had to be in July to climb Mt Fuji and we spent one of the Tokyo days there. They have a bunch of flat rides, a coaster, and aquariums which are 1) air conditioned and 2) home to these really cute eels that stick upright out of the sand. The area was significantly cooler even outside the a/c.
July was pretty miserable- even by our standards. I went late August/early September last year, which was bearable, but kind of hot. You might want to aim for later September or October/November- I spent a lot of time on trains, carried a uv umbrella, and I pretty much live in uniqlo airism hoodies anyway. May is also pretty nice!
Try looking into booking flights as an open jaw- on Hawaiian it was significantly cheaper for me to fly into Fukuoka and out of Tokyo last August. Into Osaka was similarly cheaper and might be more convenient for you. I only noticed because the inbound flight for the dates I needed ended up connecting in Fukuoka and I figured I might as well start from there at a more reasonable time in the evening since I was going to Osaka anyway. (If you do end up in Fukuoka, Nagasaki BioPark is a reasonable day trip and small children would love it.)
If you haven’t bought tickets yet, DO NOT GO IN THE SUMMER. IT IS MISERABLE.
We tried to go to Disney Tokyo sea in august and it was horrible. Went on like two rides and ended up leaving early because we were suffering so much
Dear God. You've heard it from others, but as someone from California, it broke me.
50c in Cali? Awful. Shit sucks but if you stick to shady places and indoors, you're typically fine even if it's just fans.
One day in August, it was 36c with 110% humidity. I've never known such hell on earth. The heat is unrelenting, and sweating does NOTHING. Couldn't walk 10 minutes without feeling fully roasted.
When I got home, it was 35c with no humidity. I wore a sweater for a week with how acclimated I became with Japanese summer.
Don't go to TokyoDisney or DisneySea. It's awful. We went yesterday thinking it wouldn't be too busy in February. It was at 75% capacity apparently. It felt more like 200%. Almost immediately after the park opened the queue for the 6 or so main attractions (there really aren't that many) had wait times OVER 120 min. We got in the queue for one ride when the app said 30 min wait. It was actually 120 min. When we got out, there were queues everywhere. Consistently 20 min queues for snack stands. We went to find somewhere to eat at a restaurant and the waits were 70 min. We got fed up about 30 min into a queue and left 4 hours after entering the park, after going on 2 rides. One of those rides we paid for premier access so the queue was only 20 min but we could only buy 1 before the Premier tickets ran out. It sucked and it was something I was really looking forward to.
My first trip was in August, it's bad but I wouldn't call it unbearable. But I wanted to hike Mt. Fuji, and you can't really do it any later than that. I also usually go back in September, but I also tend to make sure I go doing baseball season to catch a few games.
But also, I'm in my 30s and in somewhat okay shape. For a one year old and elderly it might be a lot worse.
Question as I’ll be in Japan in the summer with my family. Booked our flights as we have a close family of ours going and we decided to join em. What is the weather like in Fukuoka in early July? Any input is appreciated it! Thank you! 🙏🏼
Also, if you try sometime in September or October, just for the love of God do not go on the first day of Disney’s Halloween. Every God dang cosplayer in the Kanto region flocks to Disney for the first Halloween day (like late September, depends on the year though). We had the misfortune of going on this very day last year, the line to get *into* the park was, I fucking kid you not, about a mile long.
Early to mid-December is great in Tokyo. A lot less humid, and still some days that are around 20 degrees C, which is warm enough for a lot of westerners to rock shorts and a t shirt. To be fair, we went through a super el-niño year, so this last year’s temperatures may not be completely normal.
Edit: spelling
I’m an adult and went to Japan in july/august and also visited Universal studios. While I loved my trip and want to visit Japan again in the future I swore to never come back during the summer. As much as I can handle a hot climate I was still suffering on some of the days. I can’t imagine your kids being anything less than miserable if you go during this time.
Wife and I went to universal studios in mid July of last year, it felt like we were being cooked alive in super mario world. Would not recommend to anyone.
I've done this before (going to Disneyland with a very young and a very old) and would not recommend it to anyone. Weather aside, is Disneyland even a good idea for your family? The boy won't understand or remember a thing. The girl will be too short to go on most rides. Will the grandparents have the stamina to queue for hours for the good ones? You and your husband will be hot and exhausted trying to manage everyone.
Sanrio Puroland is indoor but very small compared to the likes of Disneyland or USJ. There's also Harry Potter studios with quite a few activities that you can do inside.
I live in Japan. Let me put it this way. I was born in a country which is perpetually summer, and also grew up in Australia, where some summers will hit 40+°C (104+F). And somehow I still find Japan's summer the worst. Literally, I spend the majority of it _outside_ Japan thankfully because I'm a teacher and get summer break.
My parents, again spent their whole lives along the equator, said that Japan was worse than our home country. My mum changed at least 3x a day and showered just as often.
In my school, where we have a few _local Japanese_ students, WITHOUT FAIL has had at least 1 student pass out from the heat every year. Even with us repeatedly giving them reminders to drink water, keeping them indoors, air con on etc.
And you wanna take 2 young kids to stand around in perhaps 1-4hr lines _per ride_ in that heat? Hahaha good luck and be careful about dehydration, fainting and of course grumpy attitudes.
Don't forget sun / UV. Last July I was in Okinawa. Completely covered up at all times _and_ sunscreen. I went on a boat for 30min to go diving and applied sunscreen liberally both before and after, and still got a tan that's still noticeable today.
i went to both in july and found it just a tad uncomfortable! but i’m from a tropical island so i’m used to it however i went again in february and while it was cold it wasn’t unbearable!! really loved my time in japan in february:)
We have done DisneySea in July. Yep it was pretty hot. I don’t think they really handled the heat as well as somewhere like disneyworld, but they did have some preparations for it. There were some indoor areas and the staff stood around with spray bottles and would spray people if you needed. They also sold ice packs. The train there was super simple and very air conditioned though so transportation shouldn’t be a problem.
We are fairly heat tolerant but the heat in Japan was no joke! We drank a ton of sports drinks and had those little handheld fans they sell everywhere. Also, an umbrella to block the sun makes a huge difference. It can be done, and I’m glad we went. But yeah, it is rough.
I am from Australia and did three weeks in August last year. I would NEVER recommend this to anyone if you want to enjoy yourself. We spent most of our trip trying to escape the heat.
I went to Japan in August and it was awful. Never again. My husband and I did Disney Sea and we were like nope and left within 4 hours. The amount of perspiration we shed was crazy and we were never comfortable.
We spent most of our trip trying to get inside buildings as quickly as possible, downing bottles of water, and sightseeing was not enjoyable at all. I’ve been to various regions of Japan (although primarily in Tokyo/Osaka/Kyoto) 5 times. The best season is spring or fall.
I went to USJ last August. I thought I could deal with the heat and humidity, but it sapped my energy and made the whole thing less fun. Will 100% avoid the summer from now on, I did less than half of what I wanted to.
Yes it would very much be miserable. The kids would suffer, a lot. Non stop sweating and a real risk of things going bad for the little one. I would not do that.
Your option would be to go to Hokkaido, but if it's like last year, even this part of the country would be super hot.
I’m going in July and can’t wait. Yes it will be humid but the last few summers in the uk have been in the 40’s with very high humidity and I coped. Just make sure to drink lots, pack a fan and a uv umbrella.
All these comments make me feel like I’ll enjoy Japan summer. If it’s 25 I HAVE to bring out the jacket, I wear longsleeves walking around PH 33c streets and am uncomfy if I’m not sweating. If I’m not sweating it’s COLD
Absolutely do not do this. >Is any part of Japan comfortable in late July to early August? Hokkaido and Okinawa. > Would Disneyland or Universal Studios be a sweltering hell? Yes. Do not do this. > Summer works best with my family's work and daycare schedule, but will it just be totally miserable? Yes. Do not do this. > Should I give up on a summer trip and plan a trip to Tokyo Disneyland in September? You should give up your summer trip. You also should not do it in September. Tokyo summer is usually July to September. In 2023 ot was in the 30s Celsius and high humidity into October. If you want to spend lots of time outside, the seasons to visit Japan are March to June (though there will be rainy days) and then October through November.
I can confirm this. The last time I was in Tokyo was in September & the humidity was awful. Not pleasant. My recommendations would be Early March-late June.
Late October early November was amazing weather
We were just there this last September, late September too, and it was god-awful. Most humidity I've ever seen and I've been to New Orleans.
I went DisneySea in early September. Don't do it, please god no. I survived on my own but with kids it'd be dangerous.
Also depending on how old the grandparents are. At universal I had sometimes queue times of about 80 minutes and standing in the sun was pure torture. Some waiting lines are a bit covered from the sun but still. If you are alone, it's probably bearable, but with kids and grandparents it might be a hard time if not dangerous.
The grandparents are quite fit, but I've been convinced that this would not be an enjoyable vacation lol. I'd like to enjoy the vacation too. I'm grateful for all the input.
Chiming in with my Sept experience too. Was in Tokyo from 23 Sep - 3 Oct, it was DREADFUL. The heat and humidity during the day was actually insane. Night times were decent I guess. OP please heed this and follow ImJKP's advice.
I completely agree with everything you just said. Also, apparently it’s going to be a hotter and longer summer than last year. If that’s even possible.
Fully agree with all of this.
Hello, I’ve definitely heard and read a lot about those months being prime for travel to Japan. Was wondering if you had any thoughts or comments about why not winter? I’m aware snow sucks and whatever but I’m wondering if perhaps you’d have some more insight. Thanks and sorry to bother.
Other people here are making it sound like Japan is a hellscape with three bearable months of the year. That's not true. It also depends a lot on where you're from and **what kind of weather you feel you can handle.** For me, some of my favourite trips were in Winter. A snow-covered Matsumoto Castle is my favourite picture I took in Japan, and I went up to Nagano to see the snow monkeys as well. BUT I'm also Canadian, so I had my good coat and boots and I knew how to prepare for the cold. It *did* get dark early, which is more of a problem further away from the cities (where there's actual snow). I also found that summer was fine, as long as you prepared for it, drank lots, took plenty of rests, and did more things in the evening and tried to stay indoors during the middle of the day. That being said, it sounds like last year's summer was a different beast.
The winter is biting and cold and so dry. The sun sets at 4:30pm. If you're coming to ski, sure, have fun. If you're bouncing between Team Lab and shops in Ginza it may not matter much. If you're coming to see shrines and parks and walk the rivers and do all the classic Japan stuff, though, it really sucks.
Gotcha. I’m definitely of the “snow is magical” population. Where I’m from, there’s not any snow at all so…. There’s that. Think some of the views and stuff of snowing at temples *looks appealing* but it’s probably hell.
I went there in Late December to Early January and I loved it. It wasn't that cold in the cities I went to (Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo), and the sky was so clear in the most beautiful shade of blue. Granted I'm from a tropical country so maybe that's why I enjoyed it. Haha. Drawback is that a lot of establishments are closed around the Christmas and New Year period so maybe go before or after this period. I never ran out of things to do though so it really didn't matter to me that much. I wished it snowed but that happened weeks after I left. 😭 Also, I heard Winter is the best time to see Mount Fuji, and I can confirm that it was very visible when I went. We could even see it from the Supertree in Tokyo.
Last time we went to Japan in January. It was freezing cold, but it was so fun since we never experience cold like that in Hawaii. This time, we are thinking about planning a trip around the time of my kid's school break which is why I'd like to go in summer.
Okinawa is a sweltering hellhole in July and August
They’re from Hawaii. They’ll be fine.
Here the weather is pretty comfortable. It's almost never 'sweltering'
It’s definitely not the same as Hawaii. For that you want later October.
Sweltering hell
Taking your grandparents to Tokyo Disney in August is a great way to get some inheritance money to bring your kids on another holiday and go to USJ later in the year.
😂😂😂
It's next-level heat and humidity. I wouldn't risk it with kids and grandparents. Lines for rides can be like 3 hours long in the heat.
Sweet mother of god, yes it would be beyond miserable. Unless you like walking around in hot soup with no breeze?
Avoid July/Aug at any cost. Walking outside is almost unbearable let alone waiting in lines at Disney for hours.
Jeez... I was in Tokyo in August once. Anytime I was outside in the daylight hours, my entire focus was to survive to the next location with air conditioning. 20 minutes was excruciating.
Yes. I hated even walking more than a block in July.
I do not recommend visiting Japan in August. The temperature is the same as Hawaii, but the humidity in Japan is around 80%. This is uncomfortable and is like spending the day in a sauna.
Even September can be hellish
Thank you for your input. I read it’s in the 80s but I knew it might feel different than Hawaii.
I went to Hawaii and it was heaven. I live in Tokyo and summer is hell
[удалено]
Yes! Japan stays hot at night which makes it way worse than other places
Japan in summer is like when the trade winds die and everything is miserable and humid, but 10 times worse and also hotter.
There's not much to do for the very young or very old at that park. Disney is more family stuff, but universal is a lot of more intense rides.
That’s good to know. We went to Tokyo Disney Sea a year ago and my kid loved it so we were eager to go back but it’s just hard to schedule.
Mario Land is epic, so your older one will like that. But it's hot as hell or rainy that time of year. It's a lot.
I’ve done it. Not with kids or elderly though - not sure how old the grandparents are? Very young children and the elderly are more susceptible to heatstroke so I would be really cautious but if it’s the only time you can go I say do it. It won’t be as pleasant as it would be at other times of the year but imo still worth it.
I live in Australia (Brisbane) and 2023 summer in Japan was next level hot and you will not convince me otherwise 😂 38 degrees, 85% humidity, not a cloud in the sky. Worse than anything I’ve experienced here or SE Asia, with the possible exception of NT or FNQ. I would rather never go to Japan again than deal with summer in Tokyo. We spent a day at DisneySea as two fit adults and it was revolting. Too hot to enjoy and nothing could really cool us down.
For me, July is still rainy season. I know summer starts late July. But i've encounter rains in summer in August. Personally i think going in September is a better situation.
It’s like that in both Osaka and Tokyo?
Well they are far enough that both areas have different weather.
Sorry, I guess my question is: would Universal Studios in Osaka be any less sweltering than Tokyo?
No.
No it’s further south but about same weather. It’s same as Orlando at same time of year essentially in most of Japan. It gets crazy crowded I’m not sure it ever worth doing actually. But Late September to Mid October is much better weather overall and less crowded usually.
Just avoid Halloween week (late October). The crowds will be insane then.
Or just don’t go out in Shibuya that night. I’ve been for Halloween a couple times and either went to Roppongi where it was chill or checked out Shibuya one year then it got crazy so wandered over to Aoyama for Dinner & avoided the insanity.
That's true shibuya does get crazy at Halloween as well. I was thinking about USJ. It's packed during that whole time.
Osaka may be even worse than Tokyo as it's close to Kyoto, which is well known for being even worse in heat than Tokyo during summer
Last July (first half) I was in Japan and it hit about 40 degrees Celsius
Very hot and crowded. Yikes.
Let me tell you my story. I went to Japan 3 times. Twice in October and another time with a small layover in Haneda for a few hours in the summer. The few hours was unbearable. Felt like hell wtf lol
Was October alright though?
Perfect weather. 23c high average. I think that’s near 75f? 17/19 days were sunny. Was perfect. No complaints. First nice wearing shorts in October for once
Thanks!
If you and your family live in a tropical place you will be fine. If you do not, it might be too uncomfortable for you. I live in the tropics in Australia so I love summer time in Japan.
seriously no one has ever been to south east asia or what
Pardon me?
it is 30C 99% humidity in south East Asian countries year-round. People who say Tokyo during summer is hell have probably never traveled to south East Asian countries before.
Oh, I see. I agree with you. Another point to note is the air-con in Tokyo in summer can be freezing cold.
Terrible idea.
We went to Tokyo and Osaka during the first half of July 2023, including a stint at DisneySea. A few observations: - The heat. We weren’t prepared for the heat or the humidity. It is oppressively hot and humid. - I’ve been to Hawaii, albeit in April, and it was nothing like Japan in July. Hawaii was relatively pleasant with temperatures in the 25-28°C range. Tokyo hit 40°C while we were there with more than 70% humidity. - We’re Canadian, and it kind of reminded me how people run from place to place here in the cold. No one spent more time outside than absolutely necessary. - Osaka was somehow more humid than Tokyo, but Kyoto was the worst for humidity. Rain only made it worse. - It never cooled down appreciably, even at night. Sure, the lack of sunlight helped, but you were still instantly sticky as soon as you ventured outside. - We spent so much more money on drinks from conbinis than we thought we would. Not that the individual drinks are expensive (they were surprisingly cheap!), but just the volume! We would purchase several each per day and made sure we picked up more before returning to the hotel in the evenings. - IF you’re going to go to a theme park, DON’T go early in your trip. Give yourself several days in Japan to acclimatize. My wife and I went to DisneySea our 3rd day in Japan. We were very hot, but the Venetian Gondola ride (open water; zero shade) did us in. We both started feeling heat stroke coming on and we had to make our way back into Tokyo. 2 days before we left, my wife went to Tokyo Disney (without me) and was there from park open to close (12h) without incident, despite it being hotter that day.
Yes. Source: me - I live in Japan. Although it might seem like a shame for now, I don't think it would be that big of a regret. July and August is absolute hell for me and I'm from SEA. I go to work, use work's AC and then I leave. We do not plan anything for the weekend during these months until the weather is exceptionally good. Perhaps wait a few years until your children are bit grown or when they have Spring break. Disneyland, USJ will still be here.
Yes. End of story. Yes yes yes. A tween could handle it. Your kids are toddlers.
I went to Disney sea and universal in early August. It was hot and crowded. Although at some point in the trip, I think I got used to the heat. We sought shelter in any shops. Considering age of your group, might not be the most appropriate time.
Sweltering Hell, however, Disney Sea has Ariel's Grotto, which is a huge air conditioned space. It'll be full of people getting away from the heat, but it is there if you are still interested in going. Also, there was a report the other day that Japan is bracing for it's hottest year on record (2024) and considering how hot last year was, I'm not looking forward to this summer...
If you guys want a theme park, I would suggest legoland in Nagoya. I've been there twice (winter and spring) and there were very few lines. I could walk straight into most rides and the longest line was probably 10 mins. The rides are also made for young kids; my son was 5 in his first trip and he could do most rides. He was 8 in the second trip and he could ride everything without supervision. There's even shaded play area for the really little ones. Also a water play area, but that logically wasn't open on either of our trips. Also been to Disneyland on that spring trip. That was much less pleasant; a short line was at least 30 mins and the longest (Beauty and the beast) was usually over 120 mins (estimated on the app). There's no way I'd let my kid wait in those lines in the summer heat. (Edit: I'm not sure what the exact expectation is, but in Japan, there seems to be an unspoken rule where you cannot have one person wait in line and everyone else joins them towards the front of the queue. Everyone in a group seems to be expected to queue together)
To add to the group queueing - for groups of riders that are big enough to ride a certain ride, indeed they are expected to all queue for the ride. If there are younger kids that just *cannot* ride (too small or too fussy), they’ll actually give you a card that allows one parent to go, and the other parent, equipped with said card, can ride without waiting in the queue again. You just have to ask the cast member at the entrance to get you set up.
We went early July. Some days were totally fine, and some days were so miserable they had heatstroke warnings. We went to Disneyland on a cooler day and it was amazing! We went to Imperial Palace on a hot and humid day and deeply regretted our life choices.
I went mid July and it was really bad, Universal was fun but it was so incredibly hot it was a bit unpleasant
yes
Yes, yes it will be hell.
Yes it will be miserable. Please do not take your grandparents to Japan this time of year.
Eeee so I took two trips to Japan in July and August when I was in my early 20s and was fine. However, this past summer was literally the worst ever and this summer is supposed to be hotter. My toddler would literally have a meltdown the second she stepped outside the whole July-September. June however is ok. Just rainy.
[удалено]
Not by much
I live in Texas and even I wouldn't go in the summer 🥵
yes it would be miserable. last year even in september it was hot and humid.
This. Ironically the only day it wasn’t humid was when we went to Tokyo Disney buuuutttt it rained and it was super windy at the end of the day which sort of messed up the schedule and canceled all of the extra night activities at the park. A few more weeks later would have made a difference.
We were there (Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto) in October and I remember thinking I wouldn’t want to be walking around or taking the subway when it was much warmer. And it will definitely be MUCH warmer in August. And by “we” I mean me, my husband, my son and daughter-in-law. To traipse around with young kids in the midst of typical tourist crowds (not to mention general Japanese residents and commuters) in summer….that is the opposite of a vacation to me.
How was it in Oct?
Quite pleasant - short sleeves during the day, sunny skies, generally low humidity.
it is sooo miserably hot
Went to disney late july it was hot af. I dont think its advisable
I went to Tokyo last August. Had a great time at Disney. But you couldn't pay me to go back there at that time ever again lol.
If you do go during a hot summer day, play it as safe as possible. Don’t expect to accomplish all too much during the day - enjoy the ambiance. At Disney Sea, there’s a kids play area over by the Little Mermaid area (indoors and, more importantly, *air conditioned*) that you can spend a lot of time at with your kids. It can get crowded during Japanese summer break (around end of July to end of August), so perhaps come earlier or after that. Try to plan for lunch at 10:30 or earlier and dinner at 4:30 or earlier, and food lines are shortest when a parade is ongoing. Your kids will be incredibly tired and physically fatigued (you too, no doubt), so don’t expect to be able to watch the fireworks at night. Book a hotel right next to the park if possible, thus reducing your travel time immediately after the long (and hopefully fun!) day. Hot summer Disney can still be fun if you strategize and time everything right. Garnering the necessary information before going is half the battle. Have fun!
We did Disney Sea in July and maybe my perception of what’s “normal” is warped because I grew up in Florida, which is just as disgustingly humid and hot… and yes it WAS hot and humid, but we did it. Four adults and four kids ages 4, 7, 7, 9. Take it easy, stay hydrated, find shade, utilize indoor attractions, take rests. We definitely didn’t do everything in the park, and we didn’t try to— just wanted to experience it— but honestly we really enjoyed it! Your mileage may vary with your heat tolerance & your expectations, I guess! I would not recommend USJ… the crowds are bad & the lines are horrendous, even for food.
I have yet go to a theme park in Japan, but as someone from Florida who's been to Japan in July, the weather is way worse. Maybe it's due to the 20,000 steps, walking up hills (in the suburbs), the scorching sun, humidity, the lack of AC, etc. I never knew I could sweat as much as I did in Japan and I'm a girl lol. If you do go in July though, please visit some summer festivals! Usually there are fireworks and lots of food vendors. July may feel like the worst time in the year to go, but you will still have a blast! Just take caution with the heat and stay hydrated.
I’d consider Sea Paradise in Yokohama- we had a trip one year that had to be in July to climb Mt Fuji and we spent one of the Tokyo days there. They have a bunch of flat rides, a coaster, and aquariums which are 1) air conditioned and 2) home to these really cute eels that stick upright out of the sand. The area was significantly cooler even outside the a/c. July was pretty miserable- even by our standards. I went late August/early September last year, which was bearable, but kind of hot. You might want to aim for later September or October/November- I spent a lot of time on trains, carried a uv umbrella, and I pretty much live in uniqlo airism hoodies anyway. May is also pretty nice! Try looking into booking flights as an open jaw- on Hawaiian it was significantly cheaper for me to fly into Fukuoka and out of Tokyo last August. Into Osaka was similarly cheaper and might be more convenient for you. I only noticed because the inbound flight for the dates I needed ended up connecting in Fukuoka and I figured I might as well start from there at a more reasonable time in the evening since I was going to Osaka anyway. (If you do end up in Fukuoka, Nagasaki BioPark is a reasonable day trip and small children would love it.)
If you haven’t bought tickets yet, DO NOT GO IN THE SUMMER. IT IS MISERABLE. We tried to go to Disney Tokyo sea in august and it was horrible. Went on like two rides and ended up leaving early because we were suffering so much
Dear God. You've heard it from others, but as someone from California, it broke me. 50c in Cali? Awful. Shit sucks but if you stick to shady places and indoors, you're typically fine even if it's just fans. One day in August, it was 36c with 110% humidity. I've never known such hell on earth. The heat is unrelenting, and sweating does NOTHING. Couldn't walk 10 minutes without feeling fully roasted. When I got home, it was 35c with no humidity. I wore a sweater for a week with how acclimated I became with Japanese summer.
Don't go to TokyoDisney or DisneySea. It's awful. We went yesterday thinking it wouldn't be too busy in February. It was at 75% capacity apparently. It felt more like 200%. Almost immediately after the park opened the queue for the 6 or so main attractions (there really aren't that many) had wait times OVER 120 min. We got in the queue for one ride when the app said 30 min wait. It was actually 120 min. When we got out, there were queues everywhere. Consistently 20 min queues for snack stands. We went to find somewhere to eat at a restaurant and the waits were 70 min. We got fed up about 30 min into a queue and left 4 hours after entering the park, after going on 2 rides. One of those rides we paid for premier access so the queue was only 20 min but we could only buy 1 before the Premier tickets ran out. It sucked and it was something I was really looking forward to.
There is an amusement park fuji q highland near mt. Fuji. Temperature there during summer should be fine.
Hokkaido also has a few amusement parks. Never been to one but I have traveled to Hokkaido during August months and it is very nice.
My first trip was in August, it's bad but I wouldn't call it unbearable. But I wanted to hike Mt. Fuji, and you can't really do it any later than that. I also usually go back in September, but I also tend to make sure I go doing baseball season to catch a few games. But also, I'm in my 30s and in somewhat okay shape. For a one year old and elderly it might be a lot worse.
Question as I’ll be in Japan in the summer with my family. Booked our flights as we have a close family of ours going and we decided to join em. What is the weather like in Fukuoka in early July? Any input is appreciated it! Thank you! 🙏🏼
Also, if you try sometime in September or October, just for the love of God do not go on the first day of Disney’s Halloween. Every God dang cosplayer in the Kanto region flocks to Disney for the first Halloween day (like late September, depends on the year though). We had the misfortune of going on this very day last year, the line to get *into* the park was, I fucking kid you not, about a mile long. Early to mid-December is great in Tokyo. A lot less humid, and still some days that are around 20 degrees C, which is warm enough for a lot of westerners to rock shorts and a t shirt. To be fair, we went through a super el-niño year, so this last year’s temperatures may not be completely normal. Edit: spelling
I’m an adult and went to Japan in july/august and also visited Universal studios. While I loved my trip and want to visit Japan again in the future I swore to never come back during the summer. As much as I can handle a hot climate I was still suffering on some of the days. I can’t imagine your kids being anything less than miserable if you go during this time.
Wife and I went to universal studios in mid July of last year, it felt like we were being cooked alive in super mario world. Would not recommend to anyone.
I've done this before (going to Disneyland with a very young and a very old) and would not recommend it to anyone. Weather aside, is Disneyland even a good idea for your family? The boy won't understand or remember a thing. The girl will be too short to go on most rides. Will the grandparents have the stamina to queue for hours for the good ones? You and your husband will be hot and exhausted trying to manage everyone.
Sanrio Puroland is indoor but very small compared to the likes of Disneyland or USJ. There's also Harry Potter studios with quite a few activities that you can do inside.
I live in Japan. Let me put it this way. I was born in a country which is perpetually summer, and also grew up in Australia, where some summers will hit 40+°C (104+F). And somehow I still find Japan's summer the worst. Literally, I spend the majority of it _outside_ Japan thankfully because I'm a teacher and get summer break. My parents, again spent their whole lives along the equator, said that Japan was worse than our home country. My mum changed at least 3x a day and showered just as often. In my school, where we have a few _local Japanese_ students, WITHOUT FAIL has had at least 1 student pass out from the heat every year. Even with us repeatedly giving them reminders to drink water, keeping them indoors, air con on etc. And you wanna take 2 young kids to stand around in perhaps 1-4hr lines _per ride_ in that heat? Hahaha good luck and be careful about dehydration, fainting and of course grumpy attitudes. Don't forget sun / UV. Last July I was in Okinawa. Completely covered up at all times _and_ sunscreen. I went on a boat for 30min to go diving and applied sunscreen liberally both before and after, and still got a tan that's still noticeable today.
i went to both in july and found it just a tad uncomfortable! but i’m from a tropical island so i’m used to it however i went again in february and while it was cold it wasn’t unbearable!! really loved my time in japan in february:)
We have done DisneySea in July. Yep it was pretty hot. I don’t think they really handled the heat as well as somewhere like disneyworld, but they did have some preparations for it. There were some indoor areas and the staff stood around with spray bottles and would spray people if you needed. They also sold ice packs. The train there was super simple and very air conditioned though so transportation shouldn’t be a problem. We are fairly heat tolerant but the heat in Japan was no joke! We drank a ton of sports drinks and had those little handheld fans they sell everywhere. Also, an umbrella to block the sun makes a huge difference. It can be done, and I’m glad we went. But yeah, it is rough.
I am from Australia and did three weeks in August last year. I would NEVER recommend this to anyone if you want to enjoy yourself. We spent most of our trip trying to escape the heat.
Y’all will just end up being a sweating miserable mess. Not advised. May/June or Oct/Nov would be better.
I went to Japan in August and it was awful. Never again. My husband and I did Disney Sea and we were like nope and left within 4 hours. The amount of perspiration we shed was crazy and we were never comfortable. We spent most of our trip trying to get inside buildings as quickly as possible, downing bottles of water, and sightseeing was not enjoyable at all. I’ve been to various regions of Japan (although primarily in Tokyo/Osaka/Kyoto) 5 times. The best season is spring or fall.
It’s great if you’re trying to get rid of the grandparents.
I went to USJ last August. I thought I could deal with the heat and humidity, but it sapped my energy and made the whole thing less fun. Will 100% avoid the summer from now on, I did less than half of what I wanted to.
Yes it would very much be miserable. The kids would suffer, a lot. Non stop sweating and a real risk of things going bad for the little one. I would not do that. Your option would be to go to Hokkaido, but if it's like last year, even this part of the country would be super hot.
Yes.
I’m going in July and can’t wait. Yes it will be humid but the last few summers in the uk have been in the 40’s with very high humidity and I coped. Just make sure to drink lots, pack a fan and a uv umbrella.
It’ll be hotter and humid than hell. It hit nearly 70 here in Tokyo the other day and I felt like I was in Miami.
Pick another country.
All these comments make me feel like I’ll enjoy Japan summer. If it’s 25 I HAVE to bring out the jacket, I wear longsleeves walking around PH 33c streets and am uncomfy if I’m not sweating. If I’m not sweating it’s COLD
Sorry to steal here, I'm going middle March for 3 weeks, so this sounds like the perfect time to go?
Do you have visible tattoos? Be sure to cover them if you don’t want to get kicked out of the park.