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Better time to visit Japan? May or July

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stamerjam:
I have a problem with my vacation time during the summer break because of the shorten break with my camps. My school has agreed to let me use vacation days during the exams since I don't teach or do anything at that time. Would it be better to visit Tokyo in the beginning of May or beginning of July? Does it matter between the two?

Thanks!

ironopolis:
April 29th to May 5th is Golden Week in Japan when pretty much the whole country goes on holiday somewhere and everything will be busy as well as both difficult and more expensive than usual to make reservations for. Bear in mind that May 6th is a Sunday, so it'll effectively last until then this year. All those problems would end from May 7th though.

The only issue I could think of regarding early July would be the weather. You'd probably catch the end of the rainy season, which is pretty humid, and that might be something to bear in mind if you're the kind of person who struggles with any kind of heat or humidity.

osaka07:
I would actually recommend going to Japan in May because of Golden week; especially if you're heading to Tokyo. As Golden week is a long holiday, the current trend in Japan are overseas trips and those living in Tokyo tend to head back to their hometowns, etc.

Also on a side note, due to the Fukushima problem, power saving has been a big issue in Japan and air-conditioning may be cut, especially in Tokyo as it's closer to Fukushima. So July might get really icky...

Yu_Bumsuk:
I've been to Japan in July and it's just as bad or worse than Korea for the heat and humidity if you're the type of traveller who likes to get out and about on foot. You can shower and change and after twenty minutes feel like you may as well not have bothered. Definitely go for May, but as others have said be weary of Golden Week.

ironopolis:
The mass exodus out of Tokyo back to home towns tends to be during the Obon (August 12-18) and New Year (Dec 29 - Jan 3) weeks, rather than Golden Week. Although that's not to say that nobody does it during Golden Week.

It's a good point that more and more Japanese are spending the time overseas. The big reason for that is the exchange rate, with the yen still crazily high against pretty much any other currency at the moment.

And if you were just going to Tokyo only, and not doing any long journeys around the country, I'd second the advice that you'd be ok during the Golden Week period as long as you didn't leave booking your accommodation to the last minute. In fact, I never meant my earlier post to say "don't go in Golden Week", merely that you should be aware that it's a major holiday period in Japan whereas the other time you're considering going there isn't.

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