Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto sits in mountain country in Japan, and the 2015–2024 weather record gives its sunshine a clear shape: the May peak reaches an 80/100 sun score, with daytime highs around 24°C — a solid base for a culture-first visit.

The year runs from average lows of -1°C in January to highs of 32°C in August. Rain is most likely in July, when about 50% of days see meaningful rainfall, and least likely in November (22%). The genuinely warm window — average highs of 24°C or better — covers June–September.

The seasonal arc is clear in the data: summer averages 30°C against winter's 9°C, while rain-day odds move from 24% in winter and 36% in spring to 47% in summer and 36% through autumn. In short: plan around summer if you can, keep autumn as the fallback, and go into winter with managed expectations (its season score is 55). A practical compromise is September — the edge of the warm window, averaging 28°C with a 76 sun score.

Best months to visit Kyoto

Our month-by-month scoring puts May first (80/100), with October (77) and July (76) close behind. Anything in April–October clears our 70-point reliability bar. The month to avoid on pure weather odds is March (51/100).

Put against its 82 mountain peers in May, it lands in the sunnier half of the group, ahead of 62% of them.

Month-by-month breakdown for Kyoto → · More destinations for May →

Right now the 16-day outlook shows 7 mostly-clear days (under 40% cloud) and 2 with real rain risk, with temperatures between 4°C and 22°C — which is how Kyoto earns its current 71/100 sun score.