At a glance
Quietest month in Nara: January. Busiest: May, with about 1.8 times as many guest nights as January. In Nara, August is warmest (average high 33.4 °C) and June wettest (184 mm of rain).
- January: 5.7%, quieter than average
- February: 6.0%, quieter than average
- March: 8.8%, busier than average
- April: 9.2%, busier than average
- May: 10.4%, one of the two busiest months
- June: 7.9%, quieter than average
- July: 8.1%, quieter than average
- August: 9.7%, one of the two busiest months
- September: 8.0%, quieter than average
- October: 9.5%, busier than average
- November: 9.1%, busier than average
- December: 7.6%, quieter than average
quieter than average busier than average two busiest months · each month's share of Nara's 2025 guest nights; an even spread is 8.3% a month
- Weather
- Coldest: January (average low 0.8 °C). Driest: January (52 mm). Month by month
- Holidays
- 18 national public holidays in 2026. See the dates
- Next
- Plan a trip with your dates
At the Nara (奈良) weather station, which we use for Nara, the warmest month is August (average high 33.4 °C) and the coldest January (average low 0.8 °C), averaged over 1991–2020. The wettest month is June (184 mm of rain). Nara's quietest month for visitors in 2025 was January.
Nara weather by month
Averages for 1991–2020 at the Nara (奈良) weather station, copied from our Nara page, next to each month's share of Nara's guest nights (Japan Tourism Agency, 2025). These are long-term averages, not a forecast.
| Month | Average high | Average low | Rain | Rainy days | Daylight on the 15th | Share of 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.7 °C | 0.8 °C | 52 mm | 6.2 days | 10 h 5 min | 5.7% |
| February | 9.9 °C | 1.0 °C | 63 mm | 6.9 days | 10 h 55 min | 6.0% |
| March | 13.9 °C | 3.6 °C | 105 mm | 9.9 days | 11 h 55 min | 8.8% |
| April | 19.8 °C | 8.7 °C | 99 mm | 9.6 days | 13 h 5 min | 9.2% |
| May | 24.9 °C | 13.9 °C | 138 mm | 10.0 days | 14 h | 10.4% |
| June | 28.1 °C | 18.4 °C | 184 mm | 11.7 days | 14 h 30 min | 7.9% |
| July | 31.7 °C | 23.0 °C | 174 mm | 11.2 days | 14 h 15 min | 8.1% |
| August | 33.4 °C | 24.1 °C | 128 mm | 8.0 days | 13 h 30 min | 9.7% |
| September | 28.8 °C | 20.1 °C | 159 mm | 10.0 days | 12 h 25 min | 8.0% |
| October | 22.6 °C | 13.5 °C | 135 mm | 9.2 days | 11 h 20 min | 9.5% |
| November | 17.1 °C | 7.3 °C | 71 mm | 7.0 days | 10 h 20 min | 9.1% |
| December | 11.6 °C | 3.0 °C | 57 mm | 6.6 days | 9 h 50 min | 7.6% |
Golden hour
Evening golden hour is our calculation for the 15th of each month of 2026: the time the sun takes to go from 6° above to 4° below the horizon (there is no official definition).
Public holidays by month
National public holidays from the official list on our holiday page, by month, so you can see them next to the weather and how busy each month was. Regional and local holidays are not included.
| Month | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1 Jan: New Year's Day, 12 Jan: Coming-of-Age Day | 1 Jan: New Year's Day, 11 Jan: Coming-of-Age Day |
| February | 11 Feb: National Foundation Commemoration Day, 23 Feb: Emperor's Birthday | 11 Feb: National Foundation Commemoration Day, 23 Feb: Emperor's Birthday |
| March | 20 Mar: Vernal Equinox Day | 21 Mar: Vernal Equinox Day, 22 Mar: Public holiday (Vernal Equinox Day fell on a Sunday) |
| April | 29 Apr: Showa Day | 29 Apr: Showa Day |
| May | 3 May: Constitution Memorial Day, 4 May: Greenery Day, 5 May: Children's Day, 6 May: Public holiday (Constitution Memorial Day fell on a Sunday) | 3 May: Constitution Memorial Day, 4 May: Greenery Day, 5 May: Children's Day |
| July | 20 Jul: Marine Day | 19 Jul: Marine Day |
| August | 11 Aug: Mountain Day | 11 Aug: Mountain Day |
| September | 21 Sep: Respect for the Aged Day, 22 Sep: Public holiday (between Respect for the Aged Day and Autumnal Equinox Day), 23 Sep: Autumnal Equinox Day | 20 Sep: Respect for the Aged Day, 23 Sep: Autumnal Equinox Day |
| October | 12 Oct: Sports Day | 11 Oct: Sports Day |
| November | 3 Nov: Culture Day, 23 Nov: Labor Thanksgiving Day | 3 Nov: Culture Day, 23 Nov: Labor Thanksgiving Day |
The quietest and busiest months
In 2025, January was Nara's quietest month (5.7% of the year's guest nights): average high 8.7 °C, average low 0.8 °C, 52 mm of rain. May was the busiest (10.4%): average high 24.9 °C, average low 13.9 °C, 138 mm of rain. The figures do not show that the weather makes a month busier or quieter, so we do not say it does.
Similar weather, quieter: ideas for May
May was Nara's busiest month in 2025 (10.4% of its guest nights). These places had an average high within 2 °C and rainy days within 3 of Nara's in May, in a different prefecture, and May took a smaller share of its 2025 guest nights than May did of Nara's:
- Kochi: average high 24.8 °C, 9.9 rainy days; May was 9.0% of Kochi's year.
- Gifu: average high 24.7 °C, 10.1 rainy days; May was 8.3% of Gifu's year (quieter than average).
- Osaka: average high 24.9 °C, 9.5 rainy days; May was 9.1% of Osaka's year.
- Kyoto: average high 25.1 °C, 9.7 rainy days; May was 9.5% of Kyoto's year.
- Nagoya, Aichi: average high 24.6 °C, 9.7 rainy days; May was 8.5% of Aichi's year.
Weather: 1991–2020 averages at each city's weather station (World Meteorological Organization normals in Europe, Japan Meteorological Agency in Japan); a rainy day has at least 1 mm of rain. “Quieter” compares a month with the rest of that place's own year. Try another month or place. All quieter alternatives to Nara in May.
What these figures are
One weather station stands for Nara; places nearby can differ, especially by height or distance from the sea. For the full picture of Nara, including regions and holidays, see our Nara page; for other places, the visual guides and golden hour by place.
Key takeaways
- Warmest month: August (average high 33.4 °C); coldest: January (average low 0.8 °C).
- Wettest month: June (184 mm); driest: January (52 mm).
- In 2025, January was Nara's quietest month for visitors and May the busiest.
Sources
Weather normals and daylight copied from our country or prefecture page; tourism shares from the same page. See how we research.
- Weather: 出典：気象庁ホームページ（奈良 平年値）. Japan Meteorological Agency, 1991–2020 normals for the Nara station: daily maximum and minimum temperature, precipitation, days with at least 1.0 mm of precipitation (降水量の階級日数) and hours of sunshine (日照時間). Accessed 22 September 2026. Licensed under PDL1.0. 気象庁「平年値」を加工して作成 — edited by Traveloffsy (English wording, selection and rounding).
- Daylight: our calculation of the time from sunrise to sunset on the 15th of each month of 2026 at the weather station's location, by the method of the NOAA Solar Calculator (NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, “Solar Calculation Details”, based on Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms, allowing 0.833° for refraction and the size of the sun). Read it. Checked 22 September 2026. NOAA notes that calculated times can differ from what is observed.
- Source: 「宿泊旅行統計調査」（観光庁） (Overnight Travel Statistics Survey, Japan Tourism Agency), 2025 annual figures (final), tables 2 and 8 and reference table 1, published 6 July 2026. Survey page · workbook. Accessed 17 September 2026. Licensed under the Public Data License 1.0 (PDL1.0).
Modified data: the arrangement, the golden-hour and sea columns and the quietest/busiest comparison are ours, from the cited figures.