Mid-June Weather: A Dilemma

[kbmartin]

Hi there! My DH and I are starting to plan a 2019 trip to Japan. I need to preface this by saying that I am a teacher, and although I can take a couple of days off, my vacation time is limited to school breaks (Christmas, Easter, and Summer).

When we started to think about a trip, we thought summer would be the best time to go until I found out that summer is extremely hot and humid in Tokyo. Some people suggested that it was WORSE than Disney World in August. This scared me, as my DH and I have traveled to WDW in August the past three years, and we have vowed to avoid it for future trips if possible, as I do terribly in the heat. Over the past few years, we learned a lot of tricks so that we would not get heat sick, but I don't want to experience that again.

We decided that over Spring break/Easter would be a good alternative, but I would have to take two unpaid days in addition to two paid personal days off of work. This would make our trip much more expensive, though. Also, my DH's personal days (private sector job) roll over in May, and in 2019 he will gain an additional five days off. Based on my break, we would just miss Golden Week at the tail end of our vacation. None of this information made an April trip the most optimal, except for weather being cool and manageable.

I decided to think about June again. We'd leave immediately once school is over for the year, so we'd be looking at arriving in Tokyo Disneyland on June 16th and staying there and in Tokyo (outside of Disney) through about the 25th. My major concern is the weather. On weather.com's monthly report, it shows it being in the mid to upper 70s as a high throughout this period of time. Is that what the "real feel" is actually like? Is it excessively humid at that time? Is it really rainy throughout the month or just at the beginning of the month? I would like to hear from people who have experienced TDR precisely at this time, not necessarily people who have just traveled during the summer. The weather looks like it changes a lot and temperatures get worse as the months go on. I don't want to have to employ the same tricks I use in WDW in August on our Tokyo trip. I don't want to have to seek out free water at quick-service restaurants or have to take mid-day breaks.

Side note: Are there any hotels on the monorail line (or operated by TDR) that do not have air conditioning (or have poor air conditioning)?

I would appreciate any input on this. I am honestly really concerned as this trip is going to be really expensive and once in a lifetime, and it is important to me to be able to experience as much as I can without feeling like I'm being pushed to my limits. I hope nobody finds my concern ridiculous - it's a big deal to me!

Thanks!!!

 

[wanderlust7]

Not exactly the same time, but we were at TDR from 6/5-6/9 last year. If it wasn't overcast, it was a little hot, and a little humid - but nothing too bad at all. We went to WDW in early April one year and I think it felt pretty similar - maybe WDW was a little hotter. It drizzled a bit one morning, but I was good with a very lightweight rain jacket. Shoes didn't even get wet. Keep in mind that this is coming from a spoiled (weather-wise) Northern Californian.

It's supposed to get hotter and wetter as the summer goes on.

Like you, I was worried about it when I was planning. I think it does vary a lot year to year. It turned out great though. We're limited to school breaks too, so I would totally go again in June.

 

[Flossbolna]

We were there in early July, so not your time frame. The one thing that we noticed at TDR was that because of it being directly at Tokyo Bay there often was a nice sea breeze making things a bit better than they were inside the city.

I can report that the ac in our room at the Hilton Tokyo Bay was excellent. The hallway was a bit hot though.

 

[Flossbolna]

Have you checked www.disneytouristblog.com? They were at TDR in June.

Also in June is Tanabata Days which was lovely!

 

[kbmartin]

Have you checked www.disneytouristblog.com? They were at TDR in June.

Also in June is Tanabata Days which was lovely!

I just checked Tom's Tanabata Days post, and it looks like we would miss it by a week. He didn't have any big statements about the weather. Maybe I'll reach out to him on Twitter.

 

[Flossbolna]

I just checked Tom's Tanabata Days post, and it looks like we would miss it by a week. He didn't have any big statements about the weather. Maybe I'll reach out to him on Twitter.

That's a shame! We caught the end of Tanabata Days and it was really neat. Especially because so many visitors came in yukatas (summer kimonos).

And give it a try on twitter or with a comment on his blog post. He seems to regularly reply to the comments there.

 

[planningjollyholiday]

Last year we did the last week of june/ beggining of July. Slightly off your dates but probably roughly the same weather. Weather can vary, we got warm rainy days and hot sunny days. The weather never bothered us and it was never too humid. Very similar to our May trips. For perspective i live in the pacific northwest so we are used to rain, just not the heat. We loved the timeframe and likley will go back during this time again next year. The hot humid ugliness of summer is more during the last of july and gets worse throughout August. Kids get out of school mid july so that adds to the feel as the parks get really crowded. Mid june you should be fine though. If you can bump your trip a bit to be there during tanabata days then i would. Like others have stated, seeing people in their yukatas is really neat.

 

[kbmartin]

That's a shame! We caught the end of Tanabata Days and it was really neat. Especially because so many visitors came in yukatas (summer kimonos).

And give it a try on twitter or with a comment on his blog post. He seems to regularly reply to the comments there.

Last year we did the last week of june/ beggining of July. Slightly off your dates but probably roughly the same weather. Weather can vary, we got warm rainy days and hot sunny days. The weather never bothered us and it was never too humid. Very similar to our May trips. For perspective i live in the pacific northwest so we are used to rain, just not the heat. We loved the timeframe and likley will go back during this time again next year. The hot humid ugliness of summer is more during the last of july and gets worse throughout August. Kids get out of school mid july so that adds to the feel as the parks get really crowded. Mid june you should be fine though. If you can bump your trip a bit to be there during tanabata days then i would. Like others have stated, seeing people in their yukatas is really neat.

Hmm... Thank you for the info! I was kind of set on doing Disney at the very beginning of our trip and now I'm debating putting it at the end so I can experience Tanabata Days.

 

[kbmartin]

Even better: I just found out that Tanabata Days starts earlier than Tom has it on his blog! We will definitely experience it at the beginning of our trip.

 

[Kyjin]

You actually will hit Tokyo before the worst of the humidity and heat. (That's August! We're dying right now.) You may have some hot days, but it's generally milder than the rest of the summer. Plus you hit the parks before the summer crowds, so it should be a nice time to visit. Be prepared for some rain, but honestly I think if you need to come in Japan in the summer, June isn't the worst time to visit.

 

[rkold]

We did from around June 19th until July 3/4th in 2016 and in 2017. (though we only did TDR in 2017.) It did rain a few days, the buckets of rain the day we went to Tokyo Disney Sea helped keep the crowds way down even if it also kept away some of the park entertainment. By late afternoon the rain was over and I practically walked onto Monsters and Pooh when we hopped over there. We got a lot of rain later in the trip as well, our day in Nara and our day in Nagano. It wasn't so bad though? In 2016, we had rain on the Hakone day and maybe one of the other days, I can't remember.

It was hot quite a few days we were in Japan, but none of them were WDW Late August/Early September hot. (or DL late August hot!) It wasn't super humid and it did cool down some at night. I also just turned up the AC when I was in my hotel room when I went to bed.

We did Disney first to take advantage of our jet lag in getting to the parks early. We stayed at the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel and had no problems with the AC. The only hotel I had AC problems with was the Hakone Yumoto Fujiya hotel in '16. (The main Fujiya Hotel in Hakone did not have that issue.)

We do hope to go back in June 2018 once school is over again. We just love Japan.