10 Things to Do in Tokyo in May (Our Favorite Month)

The best things to do in Tokyo in May: flowers, green parks, Sanja Matsuri, sumo, Pokémon GO Fest, rooftop beer gardens, and how to handle Golden Week.

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In this guide 6 sections

May is my favorite month in Tokyo.

The weather is nice. The parks are green. There are flowers on every street, and it never got cold enough for a jacket.

Cream and I lived in Shinjuku for the whole month. We walked everywhere, and the last week turned into a Pokémon marathon. I'd go back in May without thinking twice.

So here's what I'd do in Tokyo in May. Some of it is what we loved. Some of it is May-only: festivals, sumo, flowers, and the first beer gardens of the year.

Things to Do in Tokyo in May: My Quick Answer

The best things to do in Tokyo in May are to get outside while it's mild and green, see the roses in Shinjuku Gyoen or Kyu-Furukawa Gardens, catch Sanja Matsuri in Asakusa in mid-May, and watch a day of the May sumo tournament in Ryogoku. At the end of the month, rooftop beer gardens open, and Pokémon GO Fest has been held in Japan at the end of May two years running. The one thing to plan around is Golden Week, the holiday run at the start of May, when hotels fill up and prices jump.

If your dates touch the first week of May, book your room first. Here are places to stay across Tokyo:

Places to stay in Tokyo

This map comes from Stay22, a booking partner.

The 10 Best Things to Do in Tokyo in May

1. Spend Your Days Outside // Parks, Rivers, and Fresh Green

May is the month to be outside in Tokyo. The cherry blossoms are long gone, but every tree in the city has fresh leaves, and it isn't hot yet.

We spent a lot of May in Ueno. The Oedo line took us straight there from our apartment, and Ueno Park is amazing. Big shady paths, museums, ponds, and little temples tucked into the trees. Look for the pine tree trained into a circle at Kiyomizu Kannon-do.

The other green walk we loved was the Meguro River in Nakameguro. It's famous for cherry blossoms, but in May it's a quiet green tunnel lined with small restaurants. It felt cool, and much calmer than Shinjuku or Shibuya.

Closer to Shinjuku Station, Shinjuku Gyoen is Tokyo's big garden. Entry is ¥500 (about $3), it's open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in May, and it's closed on Mondays.⁵

• Cost: free, or ¥500 for Shinjuku Gyoen
• Best time: mornings, before the late-May heat

2. Chase the May Flowers // Roses, Azaleas, and the First Hydrangeas

We saw flowers everywhere in May, on almost every walk. You don't need to go anywhere special to see them. Just walk.

If you want a proper garden:

• Shinjuku Gyoen: May is rose season in the formal garden. Satsuki azaleas, rhododendrons, and wisteria bloom in May too.⁶
• Kyu-Furukawa Gardens: a Western-style mansion with rose terraces below it, in Kita ward. Its spring rose festival ran from April 29 to June 30 in 2026, with about 200 rose bushes of 100 varieties. Entry is ¥150 (about $1).⁷

Then come the hydrangeas. They're June's flower in Tokyo, and most of them peak in mid-June. The first ones open at the end of May, though. We saw lots of them before we left.

• Cost: free on the street; ¥150 to ¥500 for gardens
• Best time: mid-May for roses, the last days of May for hydrangeas

3. Start the Day at a Neighborhood Shrine // Tokyo's Quiet Side

There was a small shrine by our apartment, and it was part of my morning. A stone dragon pours water into a koi pond there, and everything around it is green in May.

You'll find shrines like this all over Tokyo, between apartment buildings and down side streets. Walk in, wash your hands at the basin, and sit for a minute. It's the calm side of a very big city.

• Cost: free
• Best time: early morning

4. Go to Sanja Matsuri // Asakusa's Big May Festival

Sanja Matsuri is one of Tokyo's biggest festivals. It's held at Asakusa Shrine, right next to Senso-ji, and it has run since the Edo period to honor the three men from the legend of the temple's founding. Portable shrines called mikoshi are carried through the streets of Asakusa, and the crowds are huge.

It runs Friday to Sunday in mid-May. In 2026 it was May 15 to 17.⁸ The 2027 dates aren't on the official listing yet, so check before you plan around it.

In odd years, there's a second big one. Kanda Matsuri, at Kanda Myojin near Akihabara, holds its full festival with the big procession every other year. 2026 was an off year, so 2027 is the next main one.⁹

• Cost: free
• Best time: the Saturday and Sunday, and get to Asakusa early

5. Watch Sumo in Ryogoku // The May Grand Tournament

Tokyo hosts three of the six big sumo tournaments each year, and one of them is in May. The May tournament, called the Natsu Basho, runs for 15 days at Ryogoku Kokugikan. In 2026 it ran from May 10 to 24.¹⁰

Tickets go on sale about a month ahead and sell out fast. Buy them from the official seller, Ticket Oosumo, linked from the Japan Sumo Association's site.¹¹ The matches build through the day, and the top wrestlers fight in the late afternoon.

If tickets are gone, or you'd rather go with someone who explains what's happening, compare sumo tours and tickets in Tokyo.

• Cost: depends on the seat; check Ticket Oosumo for prices
• Best time: mid-afternoon to the end of the day

6. Play Pokémon GO Fest // Our Late-May Highlight

This was our end of May.

Pokémon GO Fest is the game's biggest in-person event of the year. In 2026, Tokyo was one of the three host cities. It ran from May 29 to June 1, with paid sessions in Odaiba Marine Park and around Aomi, by Tokyo Bay. Each day had a morning session from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and an afternoon one from 4 to 8 p.m. Citywide play for ticket holders started a few days earlier, on May 25.¹²

We were out all day, every day, for the last week of the month. About 30,000 steps a day. That's not normal for us. The mild May weather made it doable.

Our feet survived on two things: walking sandals and Japanese foot patches from the drugstore. A long bath every night helped too. Here's what to wear in Tokyo, including the shoes we'd pack again.

Is it a May thing every year? Not guaranteed. The 2025 Japan event was in Osaka on the same dates, May 29 to June 1. The 2027 cities haven't been announced yet. If you play, watch for the announcement early in the year, then read what to expect at Pokémon GO Fest before you pick a session. We'd take the afternoon.

• Cost: a ticket from the official Pokémon GO site
• Best time: the morning session, before the afternoon heat

7. Do the Shinjuku Neon Walk // Godzilla and the 3D Cat

May nights are perfect for walking. It's warm enough for a T-shirt, and the sticky summer nights haven't started yet.

Start at Shinjuku Station's East Exit and look up. A giant 3D cat lives on the curved screen of the corner building. It seems to climb right out of the wall, and we stopped to watch it like everyone else.

Then walk north into Kabukicho, where the Godzilla head looks down from the top of Hotel Gracery. Go after dark, when the whole street glows. Then have dinner nearby. Our favorite was Torikizoku, a cheap yakitori chain right on that street.

We walked home through Shinjuku at night all the time and felt safe. The only thing to watch for is bar touts on the corners. Never follow one into a bar. Here's how safe Tokyo felt to us at night, touts and all. And for where to go once it's dark, my best things to do in Tokyo has my full neon route, from Golden Gai to the yakitori alley under the tracks.

• Cost: free until you sit down
• Best time: after 7 p.m.

8. Wave at the Street Go-Karts // Or Drive One Yourself

You'll see them on Tokyo's main roads: rows of little go-karts weaving through traffic, with the drivers in costumes. Lots of people love doing it. Cream and I always waved when they went past.

May is a good month to drive one, because it's mild. You must be at least 18 and bring your home license, your passport, and an International Driving Permit in the 1949 Geneva format. Get the permit before you fly, because Japan won't issue one.¹⁵ Once you have it, compare go-kart tours in Tokyo, and check each company's license rules before you book.

• Cost: varies by tour company and route
• Best time: early evening, as the lights come on

9. Drink at a Rooftop Beer Garden // The Season Opens in Late May

Tokyo's department stores and hotels open rooftop beer gardens for summer, and the first ones open in the second half of May. Most are all-you-can-drink with food, for a set time.

Openings in 2026 included:

• Hilton Tokyo, Nishi-Shinjuku: a rooftop terrace from May 15.¹⁶
• Matsuya Ginza: on the department store roof from May 20.
• Keio Sky Beer Garden, Shinjuku: on the Keio department store roof by Shinjuku Station from May 28. A 120-minute course was ¥4,400 (about $28).¹⁷

Dates change each year, and rain can close them, so check before you go.

• Cost: about ¥3,000 to ¥9,000 per person
• Best time: a dry evening in late May

10. Take a Day Trip for the Blue Flowers // Hitachi Seaside Park

This is an early-May pick. Hitachi Seaside Park, in Ibaraki, is famous for a hill covered in millions of tiny blue nemophila flowers. They usually peak from late April into early May, which overlaps with Golden Week.¹⁸

It's about an hour and a half each way: a JR limited express from Tokyo to Katsuta Station, then a short bus to the park.¹⁹ Go at opening, because the peak days get crowded. If you'd rather not do the trains yourself, compare day trips and tours from Tokyo.

• Cost: park entry, plus about three hours of trains and buses
• Best time: opening time, late April to early May

Golden Week in Tokyo: What to Know

Golden Week is a run of national holidays at the start of May. In 2026 it was April 29 and May 2 to 6. In 2027 it's April 29 and May 1 to 5.³

It's one of the busiest travel weeks of the year for people in Japan. Japan's tourism board warns that prices jump and hotels fill up then.⁴

We flew in on May 2, in the middle of it, and hardly noticed. All I saw were a few signs. The thing it changes most is what you pay for a room, so book early if your dates touch it.

A few tips:

• Book your hotel first. Then plan everything else.
• Hit the big sights early. Senso-ji, Shibuya, and the observation decks get the most crowded. Go in the morning.
• Check what's closed. The Tsukiji Outer Market is the best place in Tokyo for street food, but many of its stalls close on Sundays and holidays.²⁰ Go on a regular weekday.
• Come a week later if you can. Mid-May has the same weather and none of the holiday rush.

Tokyo Weather in May

May is mild. In a normal year, Tokyo's average high is 23.6°C (74°F), the low is 14.6°C (58°F), and it rains on about 10 days for about 140 mm (5.5 inches) in total.¹

Most of our May was cloudy and comfortable. Near the end, it got hotter and stickier, and we had some rainy days. That's normal: the rainy season, called tsuyu, usually starts in early June. Some years it comes early. In 2025, it began around May 22.²

We never needed a jacket. T-shirts and light pants were all we wore, and we bought an umbrella at a convenience store when the rain came. Still choosing a month? Here's the best time to visit Tokyo, with May next to every other month.

My Tips for Tokyo in May

• Plan one area per day. Tokyo is huge. Pair Asakusa with Ueno, or Nakameguro with Shibuya, and stay there. You'll see more and ride trains less.
• Do your walking early in late May. The last week gets warm and humid by the afternoon.
• Book the dated things first. Sumo tickets, Pokémon GO Fest, and any Golden Week hotel nights sell out before anything else.
• Carry a small umbrella late in the month. Or just buy one when you need it.

Is May a Good Time for Tokyo?

Yes. It's the month I'd pick again. It's mild, green, and full of things that only happen in May. Skip the Golden Week rush if you can, and leave room in your days to just walk. That's how we found most of our favorite spots.

Next Steps for Your Tokyo Trip

• What to wear in Tokyo, including what we packed for May.
• Is Tokyo safe? Our take on nights out, trains, and the heat.
• Torikizoku, the yakitori dinner on Godzilla's street.