Last Updated: Apr 9, 2024

Tsuyu, the Rainy Season

An Underrated Time to Visit Japan

This story was originally published on donnykimball.com and has been syndicated here on Medium.

Though the Japanese love to opine about their wonderful and distinct four seasons, the island nation technically experiences five. Known as tsuyu in Japanese, this unofficial season loosely translates to rainy season in English. Typically, tsuyu runs from early June through the middle of July. While the start and end times can vary slightly depending on location, this annual period of dread for many is almost upon us. Though I’m a pluviophile who loves his rain (and might be a bit biased), tsuyu has many advantages over the more popular travel dates. With a little bit of preparation, rainy season can actually be one of the best times to visit Japan.

Before diving into my recommendations though, let’s talk a bit more about what to expect during rainy season. As the name implies, rainfall is quite frequent during this period. In most cases, these rainy days are just your typical everyday downpour; typhoons and violent storms are quite rare during tsuyu. Therefore, while by no means dangerous, the weather can sometimes be an annoying inconvenience. Luckily though, there’s still plenty to do and prices tend to be significantly lower than those during non-rainy periods. What’s more, the wet conditions help to chase away the hordes of tourists that often…