What's on in Nagasaki, Japan through the year

Peak crowds — Nagasaki Lantern Festival, Winter break (fuyuyasumi) in Japan

• Rule

  Gunkanjima landings are weather-called

  1 Jan – 31 DecClosures

  Boats to Hashima sail most days but only land when the swell allows, and the call is made at the pier. Winter is when it fails most; leave a spare day if the island is the reason you came. Source ↗

• Festival

  Nagasaki Lantern Festival

  25 Jan – 5 Mar · usuallyLunar New YearCrowded

  Fifteen nights from Lunar New Year, run out of the oldest Chinatown in Japan and spread across the whole centre in about fifteen thousand lanterns. Rooms in the city go early for it. Source ↗

Busy — Nagasaki Lantern Festival, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Gunkanjima landings are weather-called (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Nagasaki Lantern Festival (25 Jan – 5 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Nagasaki Lantern Festival, Spring break (haruyasumi) in Japan

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Gunkanjima landings are weather-called (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Nagasaki Lantern Festival (25 Jan – 5 Mar (usually))

Busy — Spring break (haruyasumi) in Japan, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Gunkanjima landings are weather-called (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Busy — Golden Week in Japan

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Gunkanjima landings are weather-called (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  Tsuyu rain season

  1 Jun – 20 Jul · usuallyMonsoonRisk

  Nagasaki takes the heaviest rain-front totals in Kyushu and the city is built up the sides of a bowl, so the warnings are about the hillsides rather than the streets. The hydrangeas are the compensation.

Still on: Gunkanjima landings are weather-called (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Busy — Summer break (natsuyasumi) in Japan, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Gunkanjima landings are weather-called (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Tsuyu rain season (1 Jun – 20 Jul (usually))

Peak crowds — Peace Memorial Ceremony, Summer break (natsuyasumi) in Japan

• Hazard

  Typhoon season

  1 Aug – 5 Oct · usuallyClosures

  The west coast of Kyushu is on the busiest approach in Japan. The Goto and Gunkanjima boats stop first and the trains follow; the mainland connection is the slowest thing to come back. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Peace Memorial Ceremony

  9 AugNational holidayCrowded

  The city stops at two minutes past eleven on 9 August. The ceremony fills the Peace Park and the surrounding streets, and the tram lines around it are diverted for the morning. Source ↗

Still on: Gunkanjima landings are weather-called (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Gunkanjima landings are weather-called (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Typhoon season (1 Aug – 5 Oct (usually))

Busy — Nagasaki Kunchi, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Nagasaki Kunchi

  7–9 OctMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Three fixed days at Suwa Shrine since 1634, with the Chinese and Dutch borrowings that no other Japanese festival has. Seated tickets are balloted and hotels go months ahead. Source ↗

Still on: Gunkanjima landings are weather-called (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Typhoon season (1 Aug – 5 Oct (usually))

Busy — one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Gunkanjima landings are weather-called (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Busy — Winter break (fuyuyasumi) in Japan, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Gunkanjima landings are weather-called (1 Jan – 31 Dec)