JANUARY
Underrated but I think it's the best season to visit Tokyo for the first time because it's low season (cheaper ticket), they have New Year Shopping Sale and Fukubukuro everywhere. Moreover since it's post-New Year holiday, Disney Resort in Tokyo are usually pretty quiet and I dont have to queue for 2 hours at each single ride! Also if you want to see snow, hop into trains Niigata or onsen trip to Nagano and Hakone

FEBRUARY
In case you want to try winter wonderland, this is the peak winter in Japan, especially Hokkaido. Head over to the northern part of japan and visit Sapporo Snow Festival that's so popular! You can also play ski and snowboard in Niseko, Hokkaido during this month. It's the best season for winter lover. If you want just a quick away from Tokyo, head over to Gala Yuzawa!


MARCH
From third week of March, you can visit Kansai Area such as Kyoto, Osaka, Fukuoka, and so on for Sakura. Fourth week of March, sakura will start blooming around Tokyo area. Make sure to spend at least a week in Tokyo to catch a glimpse of Sakura though I recommend 2 weeks as the weather can be unpredictable

Basically april is a month full of flowers!
From first week of April, Tokyo should have its Sakura, but if it's gone, you can try your luck to Kanazawa or Tohoku area (Niigata, Aomori)
From middle of April, you can visit Ashikaga Flower Park at Tochigi to see wisteria
From last week of April, you can visit Ibaraki Prefecture for blue flower nemophila at Hitachi Seaside Park

MAY
You can find Sakura in Hokkaido area during May, but if you're in Tokyo you can visit Kawaguchiko to see Shibazakura Spring Festival. However, try to avoid the first week of may when you're visiting Tokyo because it's golden week in Japan, it's 1 week holiday for most of the officer workers there (similar to Lebaran in Indonesia)

JUNE
Head over to Hokkaido instead of other places in Japan as it's one of the worst time to visit Japan. A lot of rains, humid and hot weather, no festival, I needed to dig more to find out what's good in June and I reach conclusion that since it's after Golden Week and before summer holiday, it's a great time to visit Disney Resort as well due to its low popularity during this month. Also since sun is out, this is time to explore beach area such as Okinawa, Enoshima, and Izu! Outdoor activities such as camping and hiking would be your best itinerary during this month


It's the best time to visit Hokkaido area. Amazing summer without too much heat, great foods, and beautiful lavender. Furano and Biei are popular tourist spots in Hokkaido, so explore this prefecture instead of just staying at Sapporo and Otaru. You can also visit Asahikawa Zoo to see penguin

August
It's summer, and I'm not a fan of summer. But there are matsuri (japanese festivals) and fireworks all over Japan. This is the month where you can enjoy sunflower as well. My recommendation is to still visit Hokkaido because the weather is a little bit cooler than Tokyo and other parts of Japan, while still having chance to take picture with sunflower field

SEPTEMBER
Though it's my birthday month, I think it's one of the worst season to visit Japan because it's undeniably hot, typhoon month, and there aren't any festival left because summer holiday is over. However if you want to travel light without the need of coat at low season, this might be your best bet. Also to release your inner geek, you can visit Tokyo Game Show that's held every September as well

OCTOBER
You can visit Hitachi Seaside Park to see red kochia from early October! It's around 2-3 hours train ride from Tokyo and has gained popularity the past few years. This is the month where there might be rain so make sure to bring your umbrella ready!

NOVEMBER
From first week of November, you can visit Kansai area or southern Japan for autumn leaves. It's changing depending on the weather and sea level distance, like Kyoto and Osaka though it's not too far apart, Kyoto will start blooming earlier because it's at a higher place
From second week of November, northern Japan will start having autumn leaves. If you're in Tokyo, some trees have started changing its color but you can visit Hakone and Mount Fuji if there's still non-existent red shade in the city. Sometimes Tokyo will reach its peak end of November and you can see line of Ginko Trees at Gaienmae

DECEMBER
Snow has started to fall from the second week of December at some parts in Japan, especially at some mountains area such as Kanazawa and Kyoto. Shirakawago in Gifu is the best winter spot for me, there's something magical about a village with snow on top of the roof. Though this village is amazing at every season, I think winter season is the best for Shirakawago afterall
For big cities, illuminations all over the city would have started during this month, so you can feel the romantic vibe at night