Hi Andrew
Spring or Fall is the best! Fall has beautiful Maples and Kyoto is AMAZING! Try a traditional style RYOKAN inn. Hiirigiya is my personal favorite! january is cold and you will miss out! Have fun be safe!

For Kyoto, the winter season is not bad either if the accomodation has proper heating and insulation. And even the "mushiatsui" summer rewards visitors with wonderful evenings. Actually the only times I would really stay away are Golden Week and the rainy season.

I totally agree about the heat and insulation! I think Kyoto is GREAT for the rainy season tho ...everything has overhangs the city is built around the rain!

My first visit to Kyoto was during a rainy April in the 1970s.

As I look at the photographs from that trip, they seem especially atmospheric, but from the point of view of comfort and not ruining one's shoes, dry weather is better.

I've also been in Kyoto in August--not recommended. The heat never really goes away, because the city is in an inland basin. January in the Tokyo and Kyoto areas isn't bad, dry with highs of about 5 degrees Celsius. As an added benefit, airfares are at their lowest in the winter.

My last trip to Japan, a quick jaunt to Tokyo, occurred early in November 2007. I had one free day, so I headed out to Chichibu in search of autumn leaves. The train ride through the mountains was lovely, but the trees were merely turning orange around the edges. Still, the weather was dry and pleasant, with highs of about 15-20 Celsius. I was perfectly comfortable walking around outside in my "dress for success" outfit.

I'll echo the November time frame that others have mentioned. We were there over Thanksgiving last year. The fall colors in Kyoto were amazing! Light jacket weather overall. If you have time, I'd suggest hitting up a hot spring for a day or two. We went to Naruko a couple hours north of Tokyo. Northern Japan was getting an early snowstorm and the countryside was beautiful.

We are thinking of going to Naruko for the Kokeshi Doll Festival in September. What else is there to see in the area? Is it possible to travel to Naruko and sightsee by train and not have a car? Where did you stay? Are there any western style accomodations?

thanks,

Marc

Marc,
Naruko is a pretty small town. We stayed up there for just one night. I'm drawing a blank as to the name of the place we stayed, but it was definately a traditional Japanese room with tatami mats and futons. But the hot springs were glorious! As well as the buffett style meals - again primarily traditional Japanese cuisine. We took the shinkansen from Tokyo to Furukawa and then took the local train about 40 minutes to Naruko station.

As far as stuff to do in the area, due to the snow, we were pretty limited. We did spend a couple hours at the Kokeshi museum (which is neat, but after looking at hundreds of them, it kind of becomes a blur) - one really neat thing my wife took advantage of was painting your own doll. You worked with one of the artists to get the general brush strokes down on paper and then you were released on an unpainted doll. Any mistakes can be touched up by the artist if desired. We did take a taxi to the museum, but it seems like it would be walkable in fair weather - maybe a couple miles. The town itself has some neat shops to check out as well.