Video:Japan Travel: When to Go
with Megumi EdaJapan has four distinct seasons, so you should consider the weather and festivities that occur during certain months in Japan. Watch this About.com travel video to help decide when is best for you to visit.See Transcript
Transcript:Japan Travel: When to Go
Hello, my name is Megumi Eda for About.com and today I am going to talk about when to go to Japan.
Spring in Japan
Japan has 4 distinct seasons and each season has it's own face.For us Spring is, in many ways, the beginning of the year. Hanami, or cherry-blossom viewing, is the most typical fun springtime activity for us. The blossoming of the cherry trees starts from Kyushu in March and reaches Tokyo by early April. We like to do picnics under the cherry trees when the flowers are blossoming when we like to sing and dance, go wild and get drunk. For sure, seeing the cherry blossoms is one of the most beautiful experiences in Japan.
Summer in Japan
Summer starts with the rainy season in June. In July, for 1100 years, Kyoto has been holding the Gion Matsuri - the festival of Yasaka shrine. The festival takes place for the whole month, but the highpoint is from the 14th to the 16th when the Mikoshi parades take place. In Osaka, Ten-jin Matsure is another summer festival that takes place in July, and on July 25th hundreds of boats crowd onto the Osaka River and in the nighttime are lit by thousands of lanterns.
Autumn in Japan
The viewing of the Autumn leaves is another popular seasonal activity in Japan. Again, Kyoto is a magical city for that, with it's many parks and gardens. Further north in the Kita Alps in Nagano Province, the mountain scenery in the Fall is quite spectacular, especially when combined with the many outdoor onsen in the area - this is the high season for hot spring onsen towns in Japan.
Winter in Japan
For seven days in February hundreds of snow statues and ice sculptures line the streets of Sapporo City in Hokkaido. This is the Yuki Matsuri, which is the most famous winter festival in Japan.Two festive days to look out for that occur everywhere in Japan are Girl's Day on March 3 when we decorate the Hinaningyo - or Japanese dolls -which are a traditional gift from Grandparents to their granddaughters. And then May 5th is boy's day. And on Boy's Day grandparents give Koinobori - or fish kites and Kabuto - samurai helmets to their grandsons for good health and luck.
And that's some information about when to go to Japan. To learn more please visit About.com.