Japan in October — 神無月, Kannazuki.
The best weather in the Japanese year.
What is October called in the traditional Japanese calendar?
October is Kannazuki — the month without gods — every kami in Japan leaves for Izumo, so the rest of the country is empty of them. Its season word is Kanna, the tenth month, by the old calendar.
Last updated: 6 July 2026
The absence of the gods.
The eight million kami travel to Izumo Taisha in Shimane to decide the next year’s marriages and fortunes. Izumo is the one place in Japan that calls the same month 神在月 — the month WITH gods — and holds a welcoming rite on the beach at Inasa. It is the best single reason to route a client to Shimane, and almost no foreign itinerary does.
What October actually does to a file.
Clear, dry and 20°C through most of Honshu, with typhoon risk falling away after the first week. Autumn colour starts in Hokkaido and the high mountains and works south. Demand is strong but nothing like April, and the good ryokan are still gettable at six months. If a client asks which single month to come, this is the answer.
The October programme.
- Kamiari-sai at Izumo Taisha — the gods’ arrival, and a rite almost no visitor sees
- First colour in Hokkaido, Nikko, Kamikochi and the Alpine Route
- Takayama Autumn Festival, 9 and 10 October
- Jidai Matsuri in Kyoto on the 22nd, and Kurama’s fire festival the same night
Japan in October — what agents ask.
What is October called in the traditional Japanese calendar?
October is Kannazuki — the month without gods — every kami in Japan leaves for Izumo, so the rest of the country is empty of them. The name comes from the old lunisolar calendar and is still used in tea, kaiseki menus and shop signage.
What is Kanna?
The absence of the gods, the tenth month, by the old calendar. The eight million kami travel to Izumo Taisha in Shimane to decide the next year’s marriages and fortunes. Izumo is the one place in Japan that calls the same month 神在月 — the month WITH gods — and holds a welcoming rite on the beach at Inasa. It is the best single reason to route a client to Shimane, and almost no foreign itinerary does.
Is October a good month to send clients to Japan?
October is the month to sell to anyone who only comes once: stable weather, low humidity, autumn colour beginning and the spring crowds nowhere in sight.
What should agents watch for in October?
The colour front is as unpredictable as the blossom front — sell the region, not the date, and start north.
The rest of the Japanese year.
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