What's on in Yokohama, Japan through the year

Peak crowds — Chinatown Lunar New Year, Winter break (fuyuyasumi) in Japan

• Festival

  Chinatown Lunar New Year

  25 Jan – 5 Mar · usuallyCrowded

  The largest Chinatown in Japan runs a fortnight of lion dances, a costumed parade and a lantern-up from new year's eve. It is the one time the district is worth crossing Tokyo for. Source ↗

Busy — Chinatown Lunar New Year, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Chinatown Lunar New Year (25 Jan – 5 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Chinatown Lunar New Year, Cherry blossom on the Ooka river

• Nature

  Cherry blossom on the Ooka river

  25 Mar – 8 Apr · usuallyCrowded

  The canal through Koganecho is lined the whole way and lit in the evenings, which makes it the after-work version of hanami rather than the picnic one.

Still on: Chinatown Lunar New Year (25 Jan – 5 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Cherry blossom on the Ooka river, Spring break (haruyasumi) in Japan

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Cherry blossom on the Ooka river (25 Mar – 8 Apr (usually))

Busy — Golden Week in Japan

• Nature

  Rose season on the waterfront

  5 May – 5 Jun · usuallyWildflowers & blooms

  The rose is the city's flower and the harbour-side gardens are planted for it. Peak is the second half of May, with a smaller second flush around the middle of October. Source ↗

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

• Season

  Tsuyu rain season

  5 Jun – 20 Jul · usuallyMonsoon

  Six weeks of the rain front, which on the bay means sea fog as much as rain. Sankeien's hydrangeas and the covered arcades are what the locals do with it.

Still on: Rose season on the waterfront (5 May – 5 Jun (usually))

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

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Tsuyu rain season (5 Jun – 20 Jul (usually))

Busy — Summer break (natsuyasumi) in Japan, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Typhoon season

  1 Aug – 30 Sep · usuallyClosures

  The bay is exposed and the waterfront is the part that shuts — the piers, the ferris wheel and the harbour cruises go before the trains do. Source ↗

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

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Typhoon season (1 Aug – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Yokohama Marathon, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Yokohama Marathon

  20 Oct – 5 Nov · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedClosures

  A late-autumn road race that closes the bay road and much of Minato Mirai for a Sunday morning. Fine to watch, awkward if you had planned to drive anywhere near the waterfront. Source ↗

Busy — Yokohama Marathon

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Yokohama Marathon (20 Oct – 5 Nov (usually))

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

Nothing new starts in December.