Planning a future ~4 week trip and looking for advice on whether it would be better to climb Mt. Fuji in late July or early September.
I’ve only ever been in Japan in May when the weather is beautiful. I hear that the heat and humidity in July is awful. My priority for this trip is climbing Mt. Fuji but I don’t want the rest of my trip to be ruined by the heat. On the flip side, if I climbed at the end of July I could also squeeze in Yoiyama, Gion Matsuri, and Tenjin Matsuri.
For 2023 the average temps in July and September look pretty similar? If that’s the case I think July would be a better bet because then I could go to the festivals as well.
Has anyone been in Tokyo/Kyoto in July and/or September and can speak to the heat/humidity during those months?
Any advice is welcome!
![Trip Report: Sakura Blossoms in Osaka [Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, Kinosaki, Tottori Sand Dunes, Okoyama]](https://www.lonelyjapan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/OJ9MUbrJ_PCgfYtUlmxZ4VR7YztBEkZwc-8VjPZiKM4-380x220.jpg)
7 comments
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July is rainy season with a high change of bad weather. September has much better weather overall and it’s still going to be hot during the day (not at the top).
You should absolutely not climb Fuji during rain or if there is rain in the forecast. The top will be freezing cold and being wet hypothermia is a real threat.
Edit: sorry, rainy season “usually” finishes mid July. (Missed the end) but I would still recommend going in September. I hike a lot, almost every weekend in summer if the weather is good and on average the weather is more stable in September in the mountains than July.
Plus less humidity and afternoon thunderstorms. Top will be colder but easy to bring warm layers.
There should be less people climbing in September. The heat should be similar, unfortunately.
Climbing season is from July 10 to September 10. The weather during these two months is probably colder at the top at the both ends of the period. I think end of July is optimal, because it’s in the middle of the season.
Outside of Fuji, weather in July and September is almost the same. Very hot and humid.
The humidity is going to be bad in both time periods. You won’t see any change in heat/humidity until at the barest minimum 3rd week of September, and most likely not until later than that.
So just go when there’s more things you want to do.
The climbing part will be fine: it’s a relatively high mountain and always cool toward the peak, but the heat and humidity during both July and September may be higher than you’re comfortable with when on ground level. This year in both July and September had temperatures higher than 30 on most days both in July and in September. The first day that actually felt coolish was in early October.
Be sure to leave a window of several days for climbing: you do not want to climb when rain is forecast. I climbed Fuji in August 25 years ago and met snow.
Climbed Mt.Fuji during one of the last days of the season in September 2022, and even if it’s hot and humid when you start climbing it will get cold fast as you climb higher so I think July/September is good as long as it’s not raining.
We had a four day window since it was raining and thunderstorm but the last day it cleared up and we booked bus tickets, and started the climb. So I recommend not setting a date but having a schedule that makes it possible to decide in short time that a climb is possible.