夏 · Seasonal guide

Summer in Japan

Fireworks festivals, yukata nights and cool alpine escapes.

Kawadoko season turns Kyoto's rivers into open-air dining rooms each summer — when to book Kibune's platforms and the Kamogawa's riverside decks.

Gion Matsuri 2026 runs all of July in Kyoto — here's when to see the Yamaboko Junko float parade, Yoiyama nights and the best street food.

Furano's lavender fields peak in mid-July — here's when to see Farm Tomita, Biei's flower hills and Hokkaido's Blue Pond at their best.

Mount Fuji's trails open for barely ten weeks a year. Here's how to time the climb, pick a trail and catch sunrise from the summit.

From queue-worthy shaved ice in Tokyo's Yanaka to flowing noodles on a Kyoto riverbank, here's how Japan eats its way through the heat.

Every August, Japan lights fires and sets lanterns on rivers to guide its ancestors' spirits home for the Obon festival.

The story of Tanabata, Japan's star festival — wishes tied to bamboo, streets buried in streamers, and when to catch it: 7 July or early August.

Japan in summer: the big festivals from Gion Matsuri to Nebuta, the best fireworks nights, and how to beat the July–August heat.

Japan's rainy season is secretly a great time to visit — blue hydrangeas at Kamakura's Meigetsu-in, the Hakone hydrangea train, half-empty temples.