To hot to travel in the summer in north of Japan?
 

I´m planning to travel to Japan from 15/7 to 30/8 2008.
Since I have heard it´s very hot that time of year, I thought it maby is cooler if I travel north. Is this a good idea? Or is it just to hot for a north european?

So I would travel to Niigata and than continue north up along the west coast.
North Honshu for six weeks, or should I even go to Hokkaido to get a more nice temperature?

This is the time of year in can travel during 2008, so should I go or not?

It depends on what you want to see...It is hotter and muggier in the South (West) Japan, but air-conditioning technology is advanced and it doesn't take much to get out of the heat.

I wan´t to be able to stay out doors some times at day. When I travel from one place to another I will carry my backpack. I´m more intrested other things than large cities.

So is it cooler in the north, or is to hot for a nice travel there also?

Help me out here :)

Yes, it's cooler in the north than in the south.

Whether it is still too hot for you is a personal question that only you can answer. What is "too hot and humid" for you may be bearable for another person, and no problem at all for another. Also, some days will be cooler than others, so just what the temperature will be during those exact days is a guess.

For me personally, in the central part of Honshu near Osaka, some days were too hot and humid to want to do anything, and other days weren't bad at all. The further north you go, the more cooler days you'll have. But I'm from northern CA, USA, where we get quite a bit of heat, so I'm perhaps a bit more used to it than someone from Sweden. (However, CA has dry heat, while Japan is very humid... it was the humidity that got to me more than the raw temperature.)

Samurai, I'm from Northern California as well. I'm more concerned with the rain than the heat itself. I should be traveling in late-May until early-July.

You can buy a collapsible umbrella in Japan, and carry it in your backpack. That's what I did... you never know when it'll just start raining for a little while, even on a sunny day...

I know they sell umbrellas at 100 yen shops but I need to research and find them first. Maybe I should bring a cheap umbrella with me in case it rains when I just arrive in Japan.

don't get the 100yen collapsible umbrella, its small and with a little gust of wind it gets easily damage, get the 300-500yen one they are sturdier..

my friend went to hokkaido last summer and even on the pick of summer it was cooler there around 15C, just like spring in osaka.

Summer in Japan, especially in Kansai area is really HELL and that is coming from someone who live in a tropical country all her life. Last year was the hottest I've experienced so far, I hope it would not be as hot this year.

Just be sure to get a sunscreen and some vitamin C. Airconditioning is mandated to be 24C by the goverment so don't expect cooler temperature inside dept.. get a fan too :D

24? That's still not even room temperature by America's standards...

If Kansai is a burning Hell in summer, what is north Honshu then? And how is Hokkaido? Will my plan to travel north away from the heat work u think?

I need more advice before I book my tickets!
If i´m doing anything stupid I wan´t to know :)

Temperature Data Collected by Japan Meteorological Agency
 

I would visit Hokkaido in summer. :)

You can check out Monthly Mean Daily Maximum Temperature in Niigata. It was 25.9 degrees C in July and 30.9 in August last year.

Monthly Daily Maximum Temperature in other northern cities in July and August 2007

Tohoku
Fukushima 福島 25.9 31.9
Sendai 仙台 23.8 29.9
Yamagata 山形 26.1 31.6
Morioka 盛岡 25.3 28.8
Akita 秋田 26.4 29.2
Aomori 青森 25.1 29.6

Hokkaido
Hakodate 函館 22.2 27.1
Sapporo 札幌 24.2 28.3

I'm thinking how far from the trip I should buy my tickets. I know the farther away from the departure date the cheaper they are but I'm still not sure when I should buy the tickets if I'm leaving in late-May.

coolers at 24C? Departments stores, movie theaters and supermarkets felt like meat lockers in Japan. Shopping in Osaka in summer, I actually got a little woozy from going from 35C to (seemingly) freezing temps inside stores and back again.

oh jeeze i remember Tokyo last 2 summers.

Id take a shower get dressed and walk one block down the road and be soaked in sweat =P

makes shopping a hassel, and i always end up going back to my apartment for showers and gettin changed

I am going to Japan this summer on a trip with my family. What should I do to prepare for the heat?

Is it like that in north Honshu and Hokkaido also?
That you get soaked in sweat?

I have learnet the the temperature is a little lower in the north, but do we have anyone here who have spent the summer in Hokkaido or anyone who knows if it´s cooler there and if u get soaked in sweat there also :)

I really need to know if it´s a difference in the climate in the north compared to Tokyo. I will spend a lot of money to travel to Japan and I don´t won´t to waste it to get soaked in sweat :) So should I go or not to north of Japan in the summer?

I have been in Hokkaido in the summer, and yes the weather is a little more tolerable, but I wouldn't want to spend my entire vacation in Hokkaido (and there isn't that much north of Tokyo). If you are that averse to hot weather, I might think about choosing another country.

Go to Hokkaido!
 

You wouldn't get sweaty unless you start running around. It's not that hot. The summer in Hokkaido doesn't last long and is more like autumn by Honshu standards. In fact, South Sweden and Hokkaido belong to the same climate zone Dfb (Warm Summer Continental or Hemiboreal Climate) according to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification. Tohoku and the Central Highlands have Dfa (Hot Summer Continental Climate) and the rest of Honshu Cfa (Humid Temperate Climate). People in Honshu go to Hokkaido to escape from heat and enjoy hiking, cycling and camping from June to September.

Sapporo has big city attractions. Hakodate is known for the spectacular night view from Mt. Hakodate. Furano in central Hokkaido is known for lavender and flower fields. These are the cities I would visit, although I have visited Asahikawa and Kushiro in August as well. I have a friend from Asahikawa. ;)

Hokkaido has a number of national parks: Daisetsuzan, Shiretoko, Rishiri, Rebun, Lake Toya, Lake Akan, and Onuma. I can provide links to pictures of Hokkaido if you want.

In short, you should go!:ywave:

Hokkaido Travel Guide here

:) Thanks for your very detailed help!
I´m much more confident now that it will be fine.

I just red about some other guys from Sweden who traveled around Tokyo in summer 2007. They thought it was a little hot but they had a really nice travel.

From what I know now I think I have decided to book the tickets :)

My plan is to start in Tokyo and then travel north along the west coast and then up to Hokkaido.