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Best time to visit Kyoto

Japan · 35.01°N 135.77°E · monthly climate normals, judged against the Warm preset (mean 14–24 °C57–75 °F, dry or showers)

No month in Kyoto fits the Warm preset (mean 14–24 °C57–75 °F, dry or showers) — it is too cold. The table below shows which holiday types do fit.

The rainy season runs March to October, and June to July and September is a true monsoon — 208–232 mm8.2–9.1 in a month, peaking in June at 232 mm9.1 in. August is the hottest month at 26 °C79 °F and January the coldest at 3 °C37 °F.

Figures are 30-year monthly averages (WorldClim 2.1 monthly normals 1970–2000) for the 0.25° grid cell at 35.01, 135.77 — a climate guide, not a forecast.

Kyoto weather by month

Pick the weather you like and every month is judged against it — temperature above the month names, rain below.

Weather you like

mean 14–24 °C57–75 °F, dry or showers

No month fits a Warm holiday here.

Open Kyoto on the interactive map ↗ the same verdict for every place on Earth, any month

▲ Temperature mean , coldest to warmest month
37°JAN883.537°FEB883.542°MAR1204.712°53°APR1445.717°62°MAY1526.021°69°JUN2329.125°76°JUL2248.826°79°AUG1526.022°71°SEP2088.216°60°OCT1285.011°51°NOV883.542°DEC722.8
▼ Rainfall per month, driest to wettest

Reading the chart. Gold is good: the month fits what you picked. Any other colour names the reason it doesn't — the temperature bar can be too cold or too hot, the rain bar too dry, too rainy or monsoon. A faded gold bar is a half that fits while the other half fails; a gold month name means both fit.

What the verdicts mean. Temperature is the monthly mean, judged against the preset's band (mean 14–24 °C57–75 °F for Warm). Rain is judged by each month's class within Kyoto's own year rather than raw millimetres: dry under 60 mm2.4 in, showers 60–100 mm2.4–3.9 in, rainy from 100 mm3.9 in and 35 % of the wettest month. Too rainy is a rainy-season month the preset doesn't allow. Monsoon is the heaviest kind of rainy season — 180 mm7.1 in or more (120 mm4.7 in near the yearly peak) in a climate whose wettest month is at least three times its driest — so every monsoon month is rainy season too; the label says which kind. Full rules on the method page.

MonthRain Mean SeasonWarm verdict
January883.5337showerstoo cold
February883.5337showerstoo cold
March1204.7642rainytoo cold
April1445.71253rainytoo cold
May1526.01762rainytoo rainy
June2329.12169monsoonmonsoon
July2248.82576monsoontoo hot
August1526.02679rainytoo hot
September2088.22271monsoonmonsoon
October1285.01660rainytoo rainy
November883.51151showerstoo cold
December722.8642showerstoo cold

When to go to Kyoto, by holiday type

Looking forRuleMonths that fit
Warmmean 14–24 °C57–75 °F, dry or showersno month
Tropicalmean 24–33 °C75–91 °F, anything but the monsoonAugust
Beachmean 24–33 °C75–91 °F, dry or showersno month
Coolmean 0–14 °C32–57 °F, anything but the monsoonNovember to April
Snowmean below 0 °C32 °F, any rainno month

Is there a rainy season in Kyoto?

Yes. The rainy season runs March to October, and June to July and September is a true monsoon — 208–232 mm8.2–9.1 in a month, peaking in June at 232 mm9.1 in. Outside it, rain eases but never stops.

August is the hottest month at 26 °C79 °F and January the coldest at 3 °C37 °F. Annual rainfall totals about 1,696 mm67 in.

Where to go instead when Kyoto doesn't fit

The nearest destinations that do fit the Warm preset in the months Kyoto doesn't:

Nearby destinations

distances in — tap a unit to switch.

The interactive map colours the whole world by how it fits your picks in any month, and shows this chart for any place you tap.