Tokyo in May: weather, what to wear and what's on

Tokyo weather in May

Averages for 1991–2020 at the JMA's Tokyo station (25 m above sea level).

High

23.6°C (74°F)

Low

14.6°C (58°F)

Precipitation

139.7 mm

Wet days

10.1 days

Sunshine

180 hours

Highs rise 4.2°C from April and climb another 2.5°C into June.

That is 3.3°C above Tokyo's yearly average high of 20.3°C.

Of our 14 places with temperature records, Tokyo is the 7th coldest in May: 0.8°C cooler than Hiroshima and 0.7°C warmer than Takayama.

May is Tokyo's 6th wettest month (139.7 mm).

Of our 15 places, Tokyo has the 7th highest precipitation in May: 10.6 mm less than Nagoya and 1.2 mm more than Nara.

Rain of 1 mm or more falls on 10.1 days, and 10 mm or more on 4.4 days.

Rain of 30 mm or more in one day falls on 1.1 days, and 50 mm or more on 0.5 days.

0.6 days reach 30°C or more.

The sun is out for 40% or more of the possible hours on 16.0 days, and 5.4 days have under 0.1 hours of sunshine.

By the JMA's cloud records, 1.6 days are clear and 15.2 are overcast.

On 15 May 2027 the sun rises at 4:37 and sets at 18:39 in Tokyo, giving 14 hours 2 minutes of daylight (NAOJ).

Average temperature

18.8°C (66°F)

Humidity

68%

Days of 25°C or more

12.4 days

Early, mid and late May

By the last ten days of May the average high in Tokyo is 2.3°C higher than in the first ten.

By ten-day totals, 21–31 May is the wettest (58.9 mm) and 1–10 May the driest (34.7 mm).

What to wear in Tokyo in May

Mild: highs around 23.6°C

• Long sleeves, or a T-shirt with a light jacket or cardigan.
• Layers you can take off: afternoons are 9.0°C warmer than early mornings on average.
• An umbrella: rain falls on 10.1 days.

Pack

• Umbrella

• Our clothing rules

May records in Tokyo

The extremes the JMA has measured in May at its Tokyo station.

Hottest May day

32.6°C (91°F) on 26 May 2019 (records since 1876)

Coldest May night

2.2°C (36°F) on 6 May 1882 (records since 1876)

Wettest May day

121.5 mm on 3 May 2012 (records since 1876)

Holidays and crowds in May

National holidays in May 2027:

• Mon 3 May — Constitution Memorial Day
• Tue 4 May — Greenery Day
• Wed 5 May — Children's Day

• Sat 1 May to Wed 5 May: 5 days off in a row

In May 2025, hotels and inns across Tokyo were 77.5% full on average (5th busiest of 12 months). Foreign guests spent 5.48 million nights there that month (Japan Tourism Agency). That compares with 79.4% in April and 73.2% in June.

• Japan in May: visitor numbers and busy travel days
• Holidays in May
• Golden Week

What's on in Tokyo in May

Not held, or changed

Kanda Matsuri. 2026 was a scaled-down year (kage-matsuri): the procession (Shinko-sai) and the mikoshi entries to the shrine (Miyairi) were not held. In full-festival years the festival is in mid-May. In 2025 it ran from 8 to 15 May, with the procession on 10 May and mikoshi entries on 10 and 11 May.

Official page

Tokyo before and after May

• Tokyo in April
• Tokyo in June
• All 12 months in Tokyo

Other places in May

• All 15 places in May

Related items

• Tokyo by month
• Japan in May
• Tokyo in April
• Tokyo in June