Typhoon season in Japan runs from about June to October, and August and September carry most of it: an average of 3.3 typhoons come within 300 km of Japan in each of those months, per the Japan Meteorological Agency. Okinawa sees the most, 7.7 a year, and Hokkaido the fewest, 1.9. When one comes, trains and flights stop for the storm and restart after the lines are checked, so plan a buffer day and refundable bookings rather than a different month.
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Plan a trip →- Peak: August and September, 3.3 approaches each; September has the most landfalls, 1.0 a year.
- Most exposed: Okinawa (7.7 approaches a year), the Izu and Ogasawara islands (5.4) and Amami (4.3).
- Least exposed: Hokkaido (1.9), Tohoku (2.7) and Hokuriku (2.8).
- Not the rainy season: tsuyu, the early-summer rain front, ends before the typhoon peak.
- Lowest risk: November to May; no typhoon has made landfall from December to March since records began in 1951.
When is typhoon season in Japan?
Typhoon season in Japan peaks in August and September, when an average of 3.3 typhoons come within 300 km of a Japanese weather station in each month, by the Japan Meteorological Agency's 1991-2020 normals. Storms start earlier and end later than that: approaches climb from 0.7 in May to 2.1 in July, and fall to 1.7 in October and 0.5 in November.
| Month | Typhoons formed | Approached Japan | Made landfall | Landfalls, 1951 to 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 0.6 | 0.2 | – | 1 |
| May | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 2 |
| June | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 11 |
| July | 3.7 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 37 |
| August | 5.7 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 79 |
| September | 5.0 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 69 |
| October | 3.4 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 18 |
| November | 2.2 | 0.5 | – | 1 |
| Year | 25.1 | 11.7 | 3.0 | 218 |
The first three columns are yearly averages for 1991 to 2020 from JMA's normals; the last counts every landfall in JMA's landfall records from 1951 to 2025. Two definitions matter. An approach means the storm's center came within 300 km of a JMA observatory. A landfall counts only Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, so a direct hit on Okinawa is an approach, not a landfall.
August and September hold 148 of the 218 landfalls, 68%, and July to October hold 203. The 2026 season ran early: two typhoons made landfall in June, which ties 1997 and 2004 for the most in a June, and Typhoon No. 6 came ashore in southern Wakayama on June 3, the fourth-earliest landfall since records began in 1951, per the Japan Weather Association.
TPFUUT (CC BY-SA 4.0)Typhoon clouds over Chofu, west Tokyo, September 2018
Where in Japan do typhoons hit most?
Okinawa gets the most typhoons of any district in Japan, 7.7 approaches a year, about four times Hokkaido's 1.9 and more than twice the Tokyo region's 3.3, per the district table in JMA's normals. The south also has the longer season. Okinawa's approaches run from about May into November and peak in August; the main islands peak in September.
| District | Approaches a year | Peak month |
|---|---|---|
| Okinawa | 7.7 | August (2.2) |
| Izu and Ogasawara Islands | 5.4 | September (1.5) |
| Amami | 4.3 | September (1.3) |
| Kyushu, south | 3.9 | September (1.2) |
| Kyushu, north | 3.8 | August and September (1.1) |
| Tokai (Nagoya, Shizuoka) | 3.5 | September (1.2) |
| Kinki (Osaka, Kyoto) | 3.4 | September (1.1) |
| Kanto and Koshin (Tokyo) | 3.3 | September (1.2) |
| Chugoku (Hiroshima) | 3.0 | September (1.1) |
| Hokuriku (Kanazawa) | 2.8 | September (1.0) |
| Tohoku | 2.7 | September (0.9) |
| Hokkaido | 1.9 | August and September (0.7) |
October is quieter but not over for central Japan: Kanto, Kinki and Tokai still average 0.7 approaches in October, as many as Kinki gets in August. For a beach trip to Okinawa from June to September, plan around the peak with a buffer day before the flight home; the Japan guide covers the rest of the country.
L. K. (CC BY 2.0)Tokashiku Beach on Tokashiki Island, Okinawa, on 25 July 2018
Is typhoon season the same as the rainy season?
Typhoon season and Japan's rainy season are separate: the rainy season, tsuyu, is a stalled rain front that brings weeks of gray, wet days in early summer, and typhoons are individual storms that peak in August and September, after it ends. The Japan Meteorological Agency defines tsuyu as a seasonal spell of more rain and less sun between spring and summer.
| Region | Rainy season starts, normal | Ends, normal | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Okinawa | May 10 | June 21 | May 4 to June 29 |
| Kyushu, south | May 30 | July 15 | May 20 to July 12 |
| Kinki (Osaka, Kyoto) | June 6 | July 19 | June 2 to July 9 |
| Kanto and Koshin (Tokyo) | June 7 | July 19 | June 2 to July 19 |
| Tohoku, north | June 15 | July 28 | June 21 to August 3 |
Dates are JMA's 1991-2020 normals and its 2026 dates, from the regional pages; each marks the midpoint of a transition of about five days. JMA declares no rainy season for Hokkaido. In Okinawa the rain front leaves in late June, just as typhoon approaches climb; on the main islands it lifts in mid to late July, a few weeks before the typhoon peak.
掬茶 (CC BY-SA 4.0)Hydrangeas at Unsho-ji temple in Oga, Akita, in early July
How much does it rain in typhoon season?
Monthly rain from June to October is high everywhere in southern and central Japan, and the wettest month is often June, the rainy season, not August or September. Kagoshima averages 510 mm (20.1 in) over 18 wet days in June, the most of any city and month here; Tokyo's wettest month in the window is October, 221 mm (8.7 in).
| City | June | July | August | September | October |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naha | 248 mm (9.8 in) | 183 mm (7.2 in) | 179 mm (7.0 in) | 192 mm (7.6 in) | 178 mm (7.0 in) |
| Kagoshima | 510 mm (20.1 in) | 351 mm (13.8 in) | 179 mm (7.1 in) | 244 mm (9.6 in) | 116 mm (4.6 in) |
| Fukuoka | 267 mm (10.5 in) | 295 mm (11.6 in) | 256 mm (10.1 in) | 207 mm (8.2 in) | 108 mm (4.2 in) |
| Osaka | 186 mm (7.3 in) | 234 mm (9.2 in) | 183 mm (7.2 in) | 204 mm (8.0 in) | 176 mm (6.9 in) |
| Tokyo | 161 mm (6.3 in) | 184 mm (7.2 in) | 124 mm (4.9 in) | 182 mm (7.2 in) | 221 mm (8.7 in) |
| Sapporo | 127 mm (5.0 in) | 126 mm (5.0 in) | 223 mm (8.8 in) | 144 mm (5.7 in) | 110 mm (4.3 in) |
These are averages for 2013 to 2022, and averages hide storms. One typhoon can drop more than a month of rain in a few days: Typhoon Shanshan left more than 900 mm across parts of Tokai and southern Kyushu in late August 2024, over twice the normal August total, per JMA's report. August is also the hottest month, with Osaka averaging highs of 34.1 °C (93 °F) and Tokyo 31.8 °C (89 °F).
What happens to trains and flights in a typhoon?
Trains in Japan stop ahead of a typhoon, not during the scramble: under the transport ministry's model for planned suspensions, rail operators announce a possible suspension about 48 hours before the storm and the detailed plan about 24 hours before, in several languages. After it passes, the line is inspected end to end before trains run again, so service often restarts hours after the wind drops.
- Train tickets: JR East refunds fares and charges in full for a trip canceled by a suspension, and refunds the limited-express charge when a train runs two hours or more late, per its refund rules.
- Japan Rail Pass: no extension or refund once the pass is in use, for suspensions or weather delays, per the pass terms. If a storm is forecast for the day the pass would start, start it later.
- ANA: changes and refunds with no fee when a domestic flight is expected to be delayed or canceled by weather, before departure and regardless of the final status, per ANA's policy.
- JAL: the same before departure, and a move to another flight within 30 days at no extra charge, per JAL's domestic flight page as read in October 2026. JAL leaves transport and hotel costs from the disruption to the traveler, and ANA leaves the fares for a changed route to the traveler.
Budget airlines set their own rules; check the airline's page before booking a flight in the peak months.
電車(新幹線)でゴー！ (CC0)Closed Tokaido Shinkansen gates at Tokyo Station during Typhoon Shanshan, 30 August 2024
How do you stay safe in a typhoon in Japan?
Japan's weather agency issues typhoon warnings in 15 languages on its multilingual site, and the Japan Tourism Agency's Safety tips app pushes weather warnings to a phone in the same 15. The warnings run on five levels. At Level 4, people leave dangerous places, and Level 5, an emergency warning, means a disaster is happening or imminent. JMA says an emergency warning marks a risk "observed only once every few decades."
- Save JNTO's Japan Visitor Hotline, 050-3816-2787 (+81-50-3816-2787 from abroad): 24 hours, in English, Chinese and Korean, for accidents and natural disasters.
- Stay indoors once the storm arrives, away from windows; the US Embassy's typhoon tips suggest a hallway if it turns severe.
- Wait out the eye. The same tips warn that the calm center can pass overhead before the wind returns from the other side.
- Check what the travel insurance covers before the trip. JNTO recommends insurance for every visitor and notes that policies differ on transport.
Recent typhoons that hit Japan
Four typhoons since 2018 show what a bad one does to a trip: Jebi cut off an airport, Hagibis flooded rivers across eastern Japan, Nanmadol brought the first typhoon emergency warning outside Okinawa, and Shanshan stalled for days.
| Typhoon | Landfall | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Jebi (No. 21, 2018) | Southern Tokushima and then Kobe, September 4, 2018 | Kansai Airport's runway flooded, a tanker struck its access bridge and cut it off, and about 3,000 travelers spent the night there (JMA, MLIT, AFP via SBS) |
| Hagibis (No. 19, 2019) | Izu Peninsula, October 12, 2019 | 1,000 mm of rain at Hakone; emergency warnings for Tokyo and 12 prefectures; 98 dead with the rain that followed (JMA, FDMA) |
| Nanmadol (No. 14, 2022) | Kagoshima, September 18, 2022 | The first typhoon emergency warning ever issued outside Okinawa; it crossed Kyushu and reached Niigata on September 20 (JMA, Nishinippon Shimbun) |
| Shanshan (No. 10, 2024) | Near Satsumasendai, Kagoshima, August 29, 2024 | Slowed over Japan for days; more than 900 mm of rain in places; 8 dead (JMA, FDMA) |
When is the best time to visit Japan to avoid typhoons?
The lowest typhoon risk in Japan runs from November to May: approaches average 0.5 in November, 0.1 in December and 0.7 or less in every month from January to May, and no typhoon made landfall on the main islands from December to March between 1951 and 2025. The autumn leaves fall in that window too.
For a summer trip, the plan beats a different month. Head north, where Hokkaido averages 1.9 approaches a year and peaks at 0.7 in August and September. Book flights that can change for free once a delay is expected, and keep the last day before an international flight free of long train legs.
Martin Falbisoner (CC BY-SA 4.0)Autumn leaves around Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto, in mid-November
Plan a trip around the season
The 7-day Japan itinerary covers Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, and the 3-day Tokyo and 3-day Osaka plans fit a shorter stay or a typhoon-day reshuffle.
Plan a trip to Tokyo →A MonkeyEatingMango trip plan shows each city's measured weather for the travel month, from the same city records as the rain table above. The Japan packing list lists what to bring. For the rest of the year, from cherry blossom to autumn leaves, see the best time to visit Japan.
How the figures were gathered
Typhoon counts come from the Japan Meteorological Agency: the 1991-2020 normals for typhoons formed, approaching and making landfall, by month and by district, and its landfall records from 1951 to 2025, summed by month for this page. The 2026 counts are JMA's provisional figures as of October 16, 2026. Rainy-season dates are JMA's normals and 2026 dates. Monthly rain is a 2013 to 2022 average from ERA5 reanalysis, a grid rather than a single weather station, so it can differ from JMA's station normals. Rail and airline rules were read from each operator's own page in October 2026; check them again before booking. Photos come from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each.
Pick the cities and the week, and the planner builds the days around them, with a time and a cost on every stop: plan a Japan trip.
Last updated October 2026.
Written by Shobhit Shrivastava · Founder
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