Sendai weather by month
The best time to visit Sendai is April to June — 87/100 in May, 21°C and 12 rainy days. The best season is spring, March to May (78/100 on average).
The worst month is January at 57/100 — cold, a little rain, clean air. See January →
Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis
Planning the wider trip? Best time to visit Japan →
Best season: March to May (78/100 on average) · worst January (57/100)
- Days
- 21°C
- Nights
- 12°C
- Wet days
- 12
- Sun
- 9 h
- Humidity
- 80%
- Daylight
- 14 h

Sendai, month by month
Comfort score out of 100 for the kind of trip Sendai is best for, the average high, rainy days and hours of sun a day from the climate normals, and how busy it tends to be.
What's on in Sendai through the year
Festivals, natural spectacles, holidays and the seasons to watch out for — curated and sourced. The month pages carry the detail.
- January
- Donto-sai14 JanFestival
- Zao snow monsters1 Jan – 5 Mar (usually)Nature
- April
- Cherry blossom8–25 Apr (usually)Nature
- Golden Week29 Apr – 6 MayHoliday
- May
- Sendai Aoba Matsuri15–20 May (usually)Festival
- July
- Shiogama Minato Matsuri19–20 JulFestival
- August
- Sendai Tanabata Festival6–8 AugFestival
- September
- Jozenji StreetJazz Festival12–13 SepFestival
- October
- Michinoku YOSAKOI Festival5–15 Oct (usually)Festival
- Naruko Gorge autumn colour15 Oct – 10 Nov (usually)Nature
- December
- Pageant of Starlight10–31 Dec (usually)Festival
Crowds in Sendai in May
How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.
Peak crowdsGolden Week, Sendai Aoba Matsuri, Golden Week in Japan(estimated)
Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet
Traveller notes on Sendai
What people who have been say about the place — the year-round notes first, then month by month.
Forum posters describe May in Japan generally as changeable but lovely - a run of a few sunny days followed by a day or two of rain is the typical pattern, with the rainy season proper not arriving until early-to-mid June, so early-to-mid May sees comparatively less rain than the month that follows. Standard packing advice covers the full range: short sleeves, long sleeves, a light jacket and a rain parka, since any of those could be needed within the same trip. One specific Sendai-related report cautioned that a nearby April visit hit hard rain and cold temperatures severe enough that the traveler skipped Sendai for Tokyo instead - a reminder that this transitional period can occasionally deliver a genuinely rough weather day even close to the generally favorable May window.
Forum posters describe late November in Sendai as approaching early winter, with occasional cold waves capable of pushing temperatures down noticeably. Posters discussing November in Japan more broadly describe it as one of the driest months of the year, with cooling temperatures, turning leaves and cooler nights as summer humidity fades. One visitor's mid-November-to-mid-December Tohoku trip reported only a few drizzly days with negligible humidity, and temperatures starting in the 20sC early on and dropping into the teens by month's end. Posters generally recommend checking detailed historical weather data closer to specific travel dates given how much conditions shift across the month. Posters generally rate November as a comfortable, generally dry time to visit Sendai, with real cooling as the month progresses.
Add your own note from Sendai's card on the map.