Things to Do in Tokyo in June

June has a bad name in Tokyo. It's the rainy season, and plenty of travel guides say there aren't many things to do in Tokyo in June, so pick another month. If your dates are already set, or June is the only time you can go, you're left wondering if you'll spend the whole trip under an umbrella.

Heads up: some links and maps in this guide are affiliate links. If you book or buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

In this guide 7 sections

We were in Tokyo for the end of May and the first days of June. Each week got a little hotter and stickier. The gray days came more often, and hydrangeas were already blooming along the park paths. Japan's weather agency later dated the start of the 2026 rainy season to June 2. That was the day we flew out.

So yes, June is wetter. It's also when Tokyo's gardens are at their greenest, the irises and hydrangeas bloom, and the shrines hold their summer festivals. Here are the best things to do in Tokyo in June, and how to plan around the wet days.

Things to Do in Tokyo in June: My Quick Answer

The best things to do in Tokyo in June are to see the hydrangeas at Hakusan Shrine, walk an iris garden like Horikiri Shobuen, catch a summer shrine festival, and watch fireflies in a hotel garden at night. On wet days, switch to indoor plans like teamLab, a food hall, or a slow coffee morning. Do your outdoor sightseeing in early June if you can, since the rains usually start around the second week.

Base yourself near a big station so it's easy to switch plans when it rains. We stayed near Shinjuku. Here are places to stay near Shinjuku Station for your dates:

Places to stay near Shinjuku

This map comes from Stay22, a booking partner.

What Tokyo in June Is Really Like

June in Tokyo is warm, humid, and gray more often than not. A normal June has a high of 26.1°C (79°F), a low of 18.5°C (65°F), about 168 mm (6.6 inches) of rain, and 11.6 days with at least 1 mm of rain.¹ It also gets the fewest hours of sunshine of any month.

That's still more dry days than wet ones. The rainy season, called tsuyu, normally runs from about June 7 to July 19 in the Tokyo area. In 2026 it started on June 2.² Most wet days are drizzle and low clouds, not all-day storms.

The upside is the crowds. June was one of the quieter months for foreign visitors to Japan in 2025, well behind April and October.³ That makes it a good month for the places that are packed in spring.

By the end of our month, the weather had turned. Late May was hotter and stickier than early May, and the first days of June were rainier and hotter again. If you're coming from a cool spring at home, expect early summer.

The 8 Best Things to Do in Tokyo in June

1. See the Hydrangeas at Hakusan Shrine // Tokyo's Hydrangea Festival

Hydrangeas, or ajisai, are the flower of Tokyo's rainy season. They bloom in blue, purple, and pink along park paths, train lines, and shrine gardens, and they look best on a wet, gray day.

The biggest show in the city is the Bunkyo Ajisai Matsuri at Hakusan Shrine and Hakusan Park. About 3,000 hydrangeas bloom around the shrine, and in 2026 the festival ran from June 6 to June 14, with booths open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.⁴ It's about a 3-minute walk from Hakusan Station on the Toei Mita Line.

We were already seeing hydrangeas along the paths in the last days of May. So if your trip is in early June, you won't miss them.

2. Walk an Iris Garden // Horikiri Shobuen or Meiji Jingu

Japanese irises, or hanashobu, bloom at the same time as the hydrangeas. They grow in wet fields with wooden walkways between them, so the rain suits them too.

Horikiri Shobuen, in Katsushika in the east of the city, has about 6,000 irises of about 200 varieties. The Katsushika Iris Festival runs there and at nearby Mizumoto Park, which has about 14,000 more. In 2026 it ran from May 25 to June 14. Horikiri Shobuen is about a 10-minute walk from Horikirishobuen Station on the Keisei Main Line.⁵

If you'd rather stay central, the Inner Garden at Meiji Jingu has its own iris field in June. Entry is a ¥500 maintenance fee.⁶ Pair it with the walk through the forest to the shrine.

3. Catch a Summer Shrine Festival // Sanno, Torigoe, and Tsukiji

June is when Tokyo's neighborhood shrines hold their summer festivals, called matsuri. Locals carry portable shrines, or mikoshi, through the streets, with drums, flutes, and food stalls.

The Sanno Matsuri at Hie Shrine is one of the three great festivals of old Tokyo, held in mid-June. Its grand parade through central Tokyo only runs in even-numbered years.⁷ Smaller events still happen at the shrine in odd years.

The others to look for:

• Torigoe Shrine night festival: near Asakusabashi Station, with a roughly four-ton mikoshi carried through the streets after dark by lantern light. In 2026 it ran on June 6, 7, and 9.⁸
• Tsukiji Lion Festival: at Namiyoke Shrine near the old fish market, with giant lion heads and a parade. In 2026 it ran from June 10 to 14. Pair it with street food in the Tsukiji outer market.
• Late June purification: at the end of June, many shrines set up a large ring of grass, a chinowa, for people to walk through to clear away bad luck.⁹ Atago Shrine adds its Hozuki Festival on June 23 and 24.

Festival dates move a little each year, so check the shrine's dates before you plan around one.

4. Watch Fireflies at Night // A Hotel Garden in Bunkyo

Firefly season in Tokyo runs from late May through June. The best-known place to see them is the garden at Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo, in Bunkyo.

In 2026, the hotel's Firefly Evening ran from May 16 to June 30. It also ran a firefly dinner buffet on selected dates, from ¥14,200 per adult on weekdays, with a garden walk afterward.¹⁰ Plans and prices change each season, so check the hotel's site for this year's dates.

5. Take a Hydrangea Day Trip // Kamakura or Hakone

Two of the most famous hydrangea spots in Japan are an easy day trip from Tokyo.

Kamakura: Meigetsu-in is known as the hydrangea temple, with over 2,500 bushes, almost all a pale blue variety. In June it opens longer, from 8:30 a.m., and entry is ¥500. It's about 10 minutes on foot from Kita-Kamakura Station. Nearby Hase-dera has a hydrangea path with timed tickets, and weekday waits at the peak can run 60 to 90 minutes.¹¹ Go early.

Hakone: the Hakone Tozan Line climbs through hydrangeas between Hakone-Yumoto and Gora. They're lit up at night in the second half of June, and a special night train runs with reserved seats for ¥500.¹² You can see the lit flowers from regular trains too.

If you'd rather not plan the trains yourself, compare Tokyo day trips and tours, including Kamakura and Hakone.

6. Have a Drink at a Rooftop Beer Garden // The Start of Summer

Rooftop beer gardens open on top of Tokyo's department stores at the start of summer. Most offer all-you-can-drink courses with food, and they're a fun way to spend a dry evening.

In Shinjuku, the Keio Sky Beer Garden on the roof of Keio Department Store opened on May 28, 2026, and ran through September 30. The happy hour course was ¥2,970 for 90 minutes, and it may close in heavy rain.¹³ Book ahead for weekends.

7. Spend a Slow Morning at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery // Nakameguro

On a gray morning, the Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo is an easy place to spend a few hours. It's four floors of coffee, a bakery, and a cocktail bar, built around a giant copper cask.

During our month in Tokyo, we got there at opening one day, sat at the bar, and stayed the whole morning. It wasn't busy at that hour. Cream's tip: get a coffee, and plan for a cocktail. If the rain stops, the Meguro River walk is right outside.

8. Eat Late Under the Lanterns // Shinjuku Kabuki Hall

Shinjuku Kabuki Hall is a festival-style food hall on the second floor of Tokyu Kabukicho Tower, with giant goldfish lanterns and stalls of food from around Japan. It's indoors and open almost around the clock, so it works on any night the weather turns.

Walk Kabukicho's neon streets first if it's dry, then go inside to eat. That night walk, Godzilla head and all, is number one on our list of the best things to do in Tokyo.

Things to Do in Tokyo on a Rainy Day

Some June days will be wet all day. Plan one or two indoor options for each part of the city you visit, and you won't lose a day.

• teamLab: teamLab Planets in Toyosu is a digital art museum you walk through, partly barefoot and partly in water, so the rain outside doesn't matter.¹⁴ Tickets are timed, so book teamLab tickets ahead for rainy weekends.
• A Pokémon Center: Pokémon Center Shibuya is inside Shibuya Parco, and Pokémon Center Tokyo DX is in Nihombashi next to the Pokémon Café.
• A department store food hall: the basement food floors, called depachika, are long halls of bento, sweets, and fruit. Every big department store has one.
• Underground walkways: big stations like Shinjuku and Tokyo Station connect to shops and malls underground, so you can walk a long way without going outside. Big stations are a maze, and how to get around Tokyo shows how to pick the right exit.
• A taxi: the only time we took a taxi in Tokyo was when it started raining on the way to a Sushiro reservation. Japanese taxis are roomy, the back door opens for you, and we booked ours on Uber.

If you're caught out, every convenience store sells umbrellas by the door. For rainy season clothes and shoes, here's what to wear in Tokyo. Our pick for wet streets is sandals.

Things to Do in Tokyo in Early June vs Late June

Early June is the best part of the month. The rain usually holds off until around June 7, the hydrangeas are opening, and the shrine festivals start in the first weekends. Do your outdoor sightseeing first: Senso-ji, Shibuya Sky, Odaiba, and long walks.

If you play Pokémon GO, check where the next Go Fest is. In 2026, Go Fest Tokyo ran from May 29 to June 1 in Odaiba. We were there, and here's what Pokémon GO Fest Japan was really like. The rest of our May is in things to do in Tokyo in May.

Mid-June is peak hydrangea and iris season and the heart of festival season. It's also when the rain settles in. Plan each day around one area, with an indoor backup nearby.

Late June is hotter and stickier, and it often feels like summer already. The Hakone hydrangeas are lit up at night, the beer gardens are busy, and shrines put up their grass rings at the end of the month. Plan the long walks for the morning.

Tips for Visiting Tokyo in June

• Pick a stay with a washer and dryer. Clothes don't dry well in June's humidity. Our apartment had both, and it made a real difference.
• Book a place with a bathtub. We took a bath every night. After a long, sticky day of walking, it's the best part of the evening.
• Keep a compact umbrella in your bag. Locals carry them for sun as well as rain.
• Check the forecast each morning. Swap your outdoor and indoor days around the rain, not the other way around.
• Stay central. We lived near Shinjuku, and it made short trips easy when the weather changed.

Is Tokyo Worth Visiting in June?

Yes, if you go in with a plan. June gives you flowers, festivals, and smaller crowds, and early June can feel like late spring. If you hate humidity or need guaranteed sunshine, come in May or November instead, and the best time to visit Tokyo shows how every month compares. Everyone else should pack an umbrella and go.

Next Steps for Your Tokyo Trip

• Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo
• What to wear in Tokyo
• How to get around Tokyo