Best Time To Go To Osaka (2024)

Discover the best time of year to visit Osaka, get a sense of Osaka weather month by month, and the dates of Osaka's best festivals.

Matsuri festival in Osaka

The takeaway:

• You can visit Osaka at any time of year because the weather is temperate.
• The best times to visit Osaka are the fall (October/November) and spring (March/April/May).
• Summer (June/July/August) in Osaka is hot and humid.
• Winter (December/January/February) in Osaka is cold but not too cold for traveling.
• The rainy season usually goes from mid-June to late July, but it does NOT rain every day and you can travel.

Osaka Weather in January

• Average high (C/F):9.5/49
• Average low (C/F): 3/37
• January in Osaka tends to be clear and cold. It might rain or even snow a few times during the month. The snow doesn’t stick on the ground for more than an hour or so. Most businesses are closed from December 29th to January 3rd for the shogatsu (New Year’s) holiday. For the rest of the month, things are quiet and uncrowded so this is a good time to visit.

Osaka Festivals and events in January:

• 9, 10, 11 January – Toka Ebise Festival: People go to Imamiya Ebisu-jinja Shrine and get bamboo branches and lucky baubles to pray for a good and financially successfully year.

Osaka Weather in February

• Average high (C/F): 10/50
• Average low (C/F): 3/37
• Winter continues through February. It might rain or possibly snow a few times during February, but the snow won’t stick. This is a fine time to visit if you don’t like crowds.

Osaka Weather in March

• Average high (C/F): 14/57
• Average low (C/F): 6/43
• It warms up in March. But be warned, it might be cold, cool or warm during March, so be prepared for anything but hot weather. This is a great time to visit. In mid-March the plums blossom and in late March, the cherries usually start blossom. Most of March is uncrowded, but the last week tends to be busy with domestic tourists.

Osaka Weather in April

• Average high (C/F): 20/68
• Average low (C/F): 11/52
• Spring really arrives in April. The first 10 days of the month are the busiest time for sightseeing and Osaka can be packed during this time. The cherries usually peak during the first week of April. The weather is usually warm, but be prepared for the occasional cold day and cold evenings. The second half of the month is usually uncrowded and lovely.

Osaka Festivals and special events in April:

• Early April – Hanami (cherry blossom viewing): Top spots to see the cherries include Osaka Castle Park, Utsubo-koen Park and Nakanoshima.

Osaka Weather in May

• Average high (C/F): 25/77
• Average low (C/F): 16/61
• May is possibly the most beautiful month in Osaka. It’s warm and there are plenty of clear days. Lots of flowers bloom and the new green of spring is lovely. Best of all, it’s not too crowded.

Osaka Festivals and special events in May:

First week of May – Golden Week holiday: Most Japanese workers are on holiday. Many sightseeing spots are crowded and hotels are expensive at this time.

Osaka Weather in June

• Average high (C/F): 28/82
• Average low (C/F): 20/68
• June is another great month to visit. It’s usually warm but not hot. There are many sunny days, but toward the end of the month, the rainy season begins. However, it doesn’t usually rain every day (afternoon showers are common in the rainy season).

Osaka Weather in July

• Average high (C/F): 32/90
• Average low (C/F): 24/75
• The rainy season lasts into July and it is usually hot and humid with frequent rains. That said, it’s possible to travel in Osaka in July and it’s not crowded. The rainy season ends by the end of the month, and then it becomes sunny, hot and humid.

Osaka Festivals and special events in July:

• 24 and 25 July – Tenjin Matsuri: This festival, which is one of the largest in Japan, is fantastic and well worth attending if you can. The second day is the most impressive, when people carry beautiful portable shrines (mikoshi) from Osaka Tenman-gu Shrine to Okawa River. There are great fireworks in the evening.

Osaka Weather in August

• Average high (C/F): 33/91
• Average low (C/F): 25/77
• August is usually very hot, humid and sunny. If you can handle the heat, August can be a good time to travel because it’s not crowded.

Osaka Weather in September

• Average high (C/F): 29/84
• Average low (C/F): 22/72
• September is a wonderful time to travel in Osaka. It’s usually sunny, hot and humid at the beginning of the month, moderating to sunny and warm at the end of the month. This is low season for tourism and hotels can be a bargain.

Osaka Festivals and special events in September:

• 14 and 15 September – Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri: This is one of the wildest festivals in Japan. It’s a bit like the running of the bulls in Pamplona, but here groups of men pull huge wooden festival floats at some very high speeds through the town of Kishiwada, in Southern Osaka. To see it, get to the west side of Kishiwada Station on the Nankai Main Line (starts at Nankai Namba Station).

Osaka Weather in October

• Average high (C/F): 23/73
• Average low (C/F): 15/59
• October is one of the best months for weather in the whole year: sunny and warm days predominate, with cool evenings. It’s a very pleasant time to travel. At the very end of the month, the leaves start to change color.

Osaka Weather in November

• Average high (C/F): 18/64
• Average low (C/F): 10/50
• November rivals May as the best time to travel in Osaka. The weather is usually warm or cool and sunny skies are very common. Osaka’s fall foliage is lovely during mid- to late November.

Osaka Weather in December

• Average high (C/F): 12/54
• Average low (C/F): 5/41
• Winter really starts in December, but the skies are often clear. The temperature varies from cool to cold in the day, with cold temperatures in the evening. If you don’t like crowds, this is a good time to visit, but remember that things shut down from December 29th until January 3rd.

Osaka Festivals and special events in December:

• 31 December – Shogatsu (New Year’s): People gather in their homes to celebrate the New Year. Many people visit temples to ring the temple bells at midnight approaches. A good spot to see this is at Kurodani Temple or Chion-in Temple. After midnight, many people visit a shrine to pray for good luck. A good spot to see this is Yasaka-jinja Shrine or Heian-jinja Shrine.

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