Погода: Нагоя, март

Early March here falls between the two busiest periods of the Japanese year, so regulars describe crowds noticeably thinner than at new year or blossom time while adding the necessary caveat that this city is never actually uncrowded. What is out is the plum, with the early cherries starting in some gardens - the blossom proper is still weeks away. Dress for cool rather than spring: they give roughly 4 to 16C and our row reads 15.3C days over 4.7C nights that feel like 2C, with 117.7mm across 11.3 days and a trace of snow. Mid-March can be cold and windy. The record: humidity 74 percent, 8.2 hours of sun and AQI 56.

Forum posters describe mid-to-late November in Nagoya as bringing temperatures that regularly settle into the mid-to-low teens Celsius, with a regular jacket generally sufficient, though posters recommend packing something warmer in case of an occasional dip into single digits. Posters consistently rate November as one of the best months to visit for weather alone - comfortable temperatures paired with thinner crowds than the peak autumn-foliage rush elsewhere in Japan. Posters point to nearby Korankei as a standout for autumn leaf viewing and Nabana no Sato for its winter illumination displays as popular November day-trip pairings from Nagoya. Posters generally rate November as mild, comfortable and well-timed for a Nagoya visit, cool evenings the main thing to plan around.

May is one of Japan's best months — warm without being hot or humid, too early for typhoons, and the rainy season not usually starting until early June. Nagoya averages 23°C by day and 14 overnight, with rain on ten days. The timing advice is about crowds: Golden Week runs into the first week of the month, and from the second week it is business as usual. What May is not is blossom season — Nagoya's cherry blossom runs roughly 25 March to 10 April, so a May visit gets the gardens green rather than pink. The last two weeks are the pick: warm, plenty of flowers out, not yet humid.