offlady

It is last minute, but I was able to find seats using my mileage to Tokyo and back. So I am going crazy trying to get everything done before I leave, buy omiyage, and pack as well.

Do I need to pack a sweater or jacket? I intend to stay in the greater Tokyo area with maybe a side trip to Nagano and/or Kanazawa.

hawaiiantraveler

If you are going to Nagano you might need a light jacket or sweater in the evenings. Getting hot in the days. See for averages info

weatherbase.com

Aloha!

KimJapan

Kanazawa is bordering on hot and steamy now...when the sun comes out, it's hot, but most days now are overcast until the end of rainy season. Walking outdoors at 6:00 AM in a t-shirt only every day, and sweating.

W9London

My recollection is, that the early part of the month is still in rainy season like upper 20s C, and the latter half is quite hot and humid. It is possible for the mercury to go up above 30c during the day, definitely short-sleeve weather for Tokyo. Would stick to cotton which is better in humid weather.

Nagano--evening/morning would be cool enough you may want to bring a light jacket.

As for omiyage, don't bring chocolate--there is a risk it gets melted.

tahl

Offlady, I'm in the same boat! I'm going to Tokyo & Kyoto for the last half of July. Climates in those cities, esp. Kyoto, look from Weatherbase kind of like Washington, D.C. -- maybe a little cooler than D.C. (See data, below). I've been assuming that, as in D.C., I may want to put on a sweater in airconditioned shops & restaurants.

From the daily weathermaps, it looks like Tokyo right now has daily "scattered thunderstorms." Is the typical pattern like in the Eastern/Southern U.S., where most of the day is dry but the heat builds up into an short intense thunderstorm between 4 and 7 pm?

For my own purposes, I care most about the weather from July 22 through 27. Is the same rain pattern still likely then?

From weatherbase, for July:

Tokyo
Avg range 71-82; avg 77
Avg days over 90: 5.
Avg rain: 5.3"

Washington, D.C.
Avg range 69-86; avg 79
Avg days over 90: 13
Avg rain: 4"

KimJapan

Those temperatures look low to me. This week, Kyoto is right around 30 degrees...86 in fahrenheit with overnight lows of around 25...or 77 in fahrenheit. Forecasted high temperatures for the day are almost always accurate. End of the month, after rainy season ends, it really heats up, with 35 degrees being more the norm than the exception.

It is also very, very humid, so although the temperature may not seem very high, it is hot, very hot, and very uncomfortable. If it rains, it is better. I was out this morning (in Kanazawa) at 6:00 AM walking, and sweating quite a lot...not because of the temperature or the sun, because that early it isn't bad and today is not sunny, but because of the high humidity. It is so humid that laundry hung to dry (outdoors or indoors) does not dry in a day...in fact, it never completely dries in this season but always stays a bit damp.

Though some shops may have cool air conditioning, over the past few years "cool biz" has become popular and setting AC to 28 (82) degrees is what is recommended and often followed. Just last night my daughter and I shopped and ate out, and we were hot in the shops and restaurant...it was cooler than outside, but not cold.

Local weather forecasts http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/weather_e/kinki.htm

gard

Hi

Http://www.weatherbase.com should give you an impression of what to expect Check out my Tokyo trip rpeort with pictures by the way http://gardkarlsen.com/japan_tokyo.htm . Have a great trip.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

hawaiiantraveler

You know if you could find what the dew point temperature average is for the month it would really tell you how hot it will be anywhere you travel.

The dew point is the temperature to which a given parcel of air must be cooled, at constant barometric pressure, for water vapor to condense into water. The condensed water is called dew. The dew point is a saturation point.

If the dew point temp average is more than 70 degrees F, then you are in trouble. 67 to 70 degrees F is iffy imho.

Places like Bangkok average in the 80 degree and above F dew point and that is why you feel so hot at 90F degrees and 85F dew point in Bangkok while it will feel cooler in Phoenix, AZ at 90F with 38F Degree Dew point.

Mindless trivia.....sorry

Aloha!

W9London

Having lived/stayed in both cities, I think comparison with Washington DC is a good one. The slight difference is, Tokyo feels sticky and hot even in the evenings and in the mornings (or at least feels that way).

A saving grace is that pubic areas including trains have A/C, but I rarely find it strong enough--more often it just offers whiffs of cooler air. (I actually have more problems in office buildings--our clients in Tokyo apologetically told us there is some kind of law that requires offices to set thermostat at 27C--which seems unbearably hot if you're in suits).

Rainy season is not really a tropical-style thunderstorm. It just rains, sometimes several days in a row. Then it stops, and drizzles again. Quite uncomfortable if you don't have good footwear.

tahl

Hawaiiantraveler, your dew point comment is well-taken. Googling around a bit, I found statements on www.myforecast.com that the average dew point for Tokyo in July is 70 F (21 C), which does sound uncomfortable. I also found that both Weather Underground (www.wunderground.com) and www.myforecast.com include dew point in their daily forecasts for Tokyo & Kyoto.

The air-conditioning observations make me wonder something. My two successive much-loved Mazdas (Mazda3 (Axela outside U.S.) & Mazda Protege (Familia outside U.S.)), both of which were entirely assembled in Japan, have had famously weak air-conditioning by U.S. standards. I've always assumed the a/c wasn't designed for a highly-humid climate, but as I've learned things I didn't know about Japan's climate, I wonder if maybe instead it's designed in light of different preferences & assumptions about how strongly to air-condition a space.

offlady

I am in Tokyo now, and everyone has been telling me that I am quite lucky to be experiencing good weather. It is usually rainy during the first half of July, but it has been clear and sunny, with some clouds ever since I arrived (June 30th). It did storm early Friday morning around 4 am with thunder and lightening, but it didnt last very long, and by sunrise the skies were clear. My daughter told me that it did rain heavy the few days before my arrival near the end of June.

With unexpectedly good weather, we decided to venture out to Disney Sea yesterday July 4) where the park was quite empty. Due to the early morning shower, many may have cancelled their plans to visit the park due to the early morning downpour. It was also a weekday, and high school exams are coming up soon so the teenagers were not out.

tahl, I havent had a need for my jacket at all. If anything, a raincoat or umbrella, but you can always get those things here if it should rain. Indoors, the a/c doesnt seem to be as low or as cool, so they must be setting their thermostats higher. Everyone is very green-conscious these days.

Ive been to Kyoto during summer and in early fall and both times it was hot and humid, but nothing as bad as the summer heat wave I experienced in DC--now that was miserable!

Today the skies in Tokyo are cloudy and it is somewhat warm and humid but no signs of rain so far.