September is the year's typhoon season at its most active, a fact that shapes travel planning on the Pacific coast far more than any festival does, since a storm can disrupt trains and flights with little warning. Beneath that risk, the month is genuinely transitional: the heat of August eases gradually rather than suddenly, the autumnal equinox falls around the 22nd or 23rd, and by the very end of September the first colour of the year is already reaching Hokkaido's Daisetsuzan range, weeks ahead of anywhere else in the country.
the weather
The weather
Tokyo's September days average a high of 27.5°C and a low of 20.3°C. Kyoto runs close to the same figures, 29.2°C by day and 20.7°C overnight, since both cities sit in the same broad climate band despite Kyoto's inland basin sharpening the extremes at either end of the year. Sapporo is a different country: an average high of 22.8°C and a low of 14.8°C, figures from the Japan Meteorological Agency's published climate normals for 1991 to 2020, the thirty-year average against which every year in Japan is still read. Rain follows the same normals: Tokyo averages 224.9 millimetres of precipitation across around 7.8 days with measurable rain in September, while Sapporo's own September total is 142.2 millimetres, mostly as rain by this point in the year.
in season
What is in season
- Typhoon season is at its most active nationwide, particularly along the Pacific coast.
- The autumnal equinox, a national holiday, falls around 22 or 23 September, the exact date set astronomically each year.
- The earliest autumn colour of the year reaches Hokkaido's Daisetsuzan range by the month's end.
- Tsukimi, the moon-viewing custom, is marked on a date set by the lunar calendar, usually falling in mid to late September.
- Grapes and pears are in season on autumn menus.
beyond the three cities
Beyond Tokyo, Kyoto and Sapporo
Typhoon tracks in September typically favour the Pacific coast and Okinawa over the Sea of Japan side of the country, so the same storm can close flights into Tokyo while leaving Kanazawa untouched. Hokkaido's early autumn colour, beginning in the Daisetsuzan range by the month's end, is a genuinely regional phenomenon: nowhere else in the country has begun to turn yet.
closed and crowded
What is closed, and what is crowded
September carries no nationwide closure, and it is one of the quieter months for domestic travel, though a typhoon can disrupt trains and flights on short notice, particularly along the Pacific coast in the first half of the month. Early September, before any storm activity, is a genuinely calm window to be in Kyoto or Tokyo, well ahead of the crowds either month either side of it will bring. Opening hours at smaller shops, temples and museums vary enough by day and by property that any single visit is worth confirming the same week, rather than relying on a printed schedule alone.
what to wear
What to wear
Light summer clothing well into the first half of the month, moving to a light layer for the evenings by the last week as the season starts to turn. A compact umbrella is worth carrying throughout, given the chance of sudden, heavy rain from typhoon activity. Comfortable, easily removed shoes are worth choosing whatever the season, since temples, ryokan and traditional restaurants alike expect shoes off at the door, often several times in a single day.
where the tours run
Where Luxury Japan Travel goes in September
No fixed departure of Luxury Japan Travel's own tours runs in September. Guests travelling this month, whether ahead of the autumn colour season or simply on their own dates, are directed to the Custom Tour of Japan, which has a minimum length of five nights and no ceiling on party size.
the year
Continue through the year
This page is one of twelve, one for each month of the Japanese year, each reporting the same weather, season and closure detail in its own month and linking both of its neighbours in the sequence. September sits between August and October on that calendar, and the full set is gathered in The Japan Edition's Seasons hub.