So, I’ve been looking forward to going to Japan for a good portion of my life and initially when planning the trip, we had a horrible travel agent. We originally wanted to go mid, late-May, but long story short, the travel agent screwed up and our trip got pushed into June as a result. Now all I’m reading about is how **terrible** of a time June is to visit Japan. I’m really hoping the rain doesn’t ruin our trip (ironically, the same thing happened on our honeymoon).
So, I’m very much curious just how bad the rain actually is, and if it’ll ruin the whole trip. I’m leaving in just over a week right now.
**5 Days in Tokyo**
Day 1: Nothing planned for the first day, since we assume we’ll be dead from travel, and just want to explore what we can.
Day 2: Tour guide of Tokyo from 12-4, planning to explore Akihabara for the rest of the day, as we have reservations at the Eorzean Cafe that night.
Day 3: Explore Asakusa and Harajuku
Day 4: Explore Yokohama, TeamLab Museum, Ramen Museum, maybe Chinatown
Day 5: Any last minute things we wanted to double back and see before getting on the train to Kyoto. I am a bit curious about the trains though. Can I buy a green car seat at the counter/kiosk? Or do those need to be booked in advance? Thinking it might be worth it for having a bit more space for luggage and stuff.
**6 Days in Kyoto**
Day 1: Arrive from Tokyo, settle in, and aimlessly explore
Day 2: Half-day tour from 11:30-3:30, no other plans. More exploring. Maybe Fushimi Inari Shrine, or some others?
Day 3: Go to Uji for Tea Tour. Maybe [the fire ramen ](http://fireramen.com/home/index.html) restaurant at night?
Day 4: Kyodo Class in the morning, Ramen Cooking class in the afternoon, Toei Kyoto Park after
Day 5: Bushido Class in the morning, explore Kinkakuji temple, and arashiyama bamboo grove after. Followed by an Izakaya cooking class
Day 6: Anything we stumbled upon we want to revisit before moving to Osaka.
**4 Days in Osaka**
Day 1: Arrive from Kyoto. Food tour in late afternoon, maybe Aquarium if it’s rainy.
Day 2: Half-day tour with guide, explore Tenjinbashi-suji shopping street
Day 3: Day Trip to Nara for Deer Park, Isuien Garden, Yoshikien Garden, Kasuga Taisha Shrine
Day 4: Explore whatever else caught our eye before moving to Fukuoka.
**3 Days in Fukuoka**
Day 1: Arrive from Osaka. Toto Museum, explore Yatai Stalls
Day 2: Explore canal city, and half-day guided tour
Day 3: Early morning exploration before going home
As you might be able to tell, we’re not really big on planning, and usually extemporaneously just like to explore places when we get there. But right now, my biggest concerns are how much luggage to actually bring for the trip (maybe I just do laundry somewhere halfway through), how much the rainy season will dampen (heh) the trip (is it a full day rain, or something unintrusive like 15 minutes of light rain every couple of hours?), and whether or not buying a Kansai Area Pass is worth it? (Doing the math, the JR rail pass didn’t make sense, but 9 days in Kyoto/Osaka leads me to think that might work out)
Thanks all.
2 comments
Hi!
I’ve been to Japan in mid to late June in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and I am going back soon.
Yes, June is the rainy season. How much it rains and how much of a problem it is can just really vary. In 2019, I had no rain during my two weeks outside of some drizzle until my last day in Japan, when it was pouring rain the day I left. I feel like the only trips where the rain was truly a bummer and markedly made my trip disappointing was when we went to Kamikochi. I am not that into hiking, and hiking around in the rain was not fun. You don’t seem to have any hiking planned, so I don’t see rain being as big an issue for you, even if it were to rain every single day. Just bring a good rain coat and shoes that can handle rain and are comfy. I like bringing two pairs, sneakers and something more waterproof.
During rainy season, sometimes it is pouring rain all day, sometimes it is a bit of drizzle, sometimes it is some rain and then it clears up. It just varies. I’ve had plenty of bright and sunny days in June.
The bigger issue than rain, is June is hot and humid. (So is July and August and some of September.) Depending on where you are from, it can feel dire. I’ve noticed Europeans in particular struggle because they are not use to the humidity. If you are from somewhere where hot and humid weather is common, you will be fine. I don’t like heat and humidity, but I can deal with it. Just also be aware that Japan doesn’t go in for over air conditioning places like Houston, TX.
There are lots of coin laundromats all over, so doing laundry halfway through your trip is easily feasible.
I also highly recommend forwarding your luggage from one hotel to the next…for the price they charge, it’s so worth it not having to deal with the hassle of transporting your luggages while trying to navigate the train stations.