10 Things to Do in Tokyo in May

May is the ideal month to see and do many things in Tokyo, because thanks to the spring weather it is possible to go out to the parks, see the flowers and walk the streets. The days are usually sunny and cool, so you will always feel like going for a walk. Every day you will find some traditional activity to see.

Tokyo is home to numerous Shinto temples where important festivals are held. Each one of them is a great opportunity to learn a little more about Japan's culture. From medrugada parades, to festivals made by the Japanese mafia, are you up for discovering all that this month has in store for you?

If you want to see shows performed by geisha then May is the ideal month to visit Tokyo. You can go to Tokyo' s Shimbashi Ward to see the May Azuma Odori dances performed by geisha. This is a type of dance that is performed during spring.

You can also see the traditional Kamogawa Odori dance performances if you visit the streets of Kyoto to see Geisha, more specifically in the Pontocho Ward.

These spring dances usually take place until the first half of May. Therefore, if you do not have time to see them, you can always count on other occasions. For example, you can go to other Tokyo neighborhoods such as Mukojima or book a tour of the Asakusa neighborhood. There you will find different restaurants and temples where the geisha work.

Practical information

• Location: Shimbashi, Pontocho, Mukojima or Asakusa.
• When to go: any time of the year.
• Price: free admission. If you book a guided tour the price is €67.

May is a spring month in Japan, so if you go to Tokyo during this month, I recommend you to visit the natural parks of the capital. Thanks to the good weather this season, you will be able to admire the beautiful flowers on the trees. Take advantage of the moment to take the best selfies and make a photo tour in Tokyo.

In your list of parks to visit you should add Ueno Park, a very nice place because it has beautiful Sakura or cherry blossom trees that you can admire. You can also visit Yoyogi Park where sometimes cultural performances are held. It is also full of Sakura trees perfect to see in spring. If you ever visit Tokyo in autumn, one of the things you should do is to visit this park, as it also has Ginkgo Biloba trees that are more beautiful at that time of the year.

Other parks that I would like to recommend are the Komozawa Olympic Park, one of the largest in the capital. You can also go to Kinuta Park which also has a baseball park, a bird sanctuary and an art museum. Admission to these parks is free.

Practical information

• Location: Ueno Park, Yoyogi Park, Komozawa Olympic Park, Kinuta Park.
• When to go: all month of May.
• Price: free admission.

If you are looking for something to do at night in Tokyo, you might be interested in the Kurayami Matsuri or the festival of darkness. This is a Shinto celebration held at Ōkunitama Shrine from April 30 to May 6. During this celebration you can admire the nature of the site and see the Shinto traditions. You will also see the Ōkunitama shrine, one of the oldest shrines in Tokyo.

If you like to visit the city at night you also have the possibility to hire a night photo tour and take advantage of all the colorful lights so representative of Tokyo.

In addition, during the 3rd of May there is the big plant fair. This event is attended by gardeners from different areas of Tokyo and its surroundings. You will be able to see their stalls inside the shrine and take some plants with you. On May 4th, due to Children's Day, there is a special parade for children.

Practical information

• Location: Okunitama Shrine, 3 Chome-１ Miyamachi, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-0023.
• When to go: from April 30 to May 6.
• Price: free admission.
• Hours: activities are held during the day, with the exception of May 6 when the night parade is held.

During the month of May, sumo tournaments are held from May 13 to 27. This traditional Japanese sport is not only very popular worldwide, but also in Japan. For this reason tickets are sold online by the Japan Sumo Association one month in advance.

In Tokyo these tournaments are held at the National Ryogoku Kokugikan Stadium. When it comes to buying tickets for the sumo tournament you can choose the cheapest ones usually cost about 30€, and they are a bit far from the dohyo, where the bouts take place. While for the masu-seki seats, in the grandstand, they have an average cost of 200 €.

Before you go to a tournament of the Land of the Rising Sun's favorite sport, I recommend reading about the origins of sumo to learn a little more about the sport.

Practical information

• Location: Ryogoku Kokugikan national stadium. 1 Chome-3-28 Yokoami, Sumida City, Tokyo 130-0015.

• When to go: held in May, but also in January and September.

• Price: between 30 € and 200 €.

• Schedule: exact times are published on the Japan Sumo Association website.

Children's Day or Kodomo No Hi is celebrated throughout Japan on May 5. On this date it is a tradition to hang tent-shaped flags known as koinobori outside houses, on rivers and in the countryside. In addition to seeing these beautiful decorations, you can celebrate this day with traditional activities and also by visiting various sites that children will love.

If you are traveling to Tokyo with children, one of the things you can do to celebrate this day is to plan a tour through the streets and see the koinobori that adorn the different streets. I recommend you to go to Tokyo Tower and the Tokyo Skytree Solamachi shopping mall area, or even to visit the communications tower that gives its name to the mall, Tokyo Skytree, the highest in Japan for which you can buy your tickets online.

You can also go to Yomiuri Land, a fun amusement park to visit with the family. Another good option is to visit the Akihabara neighborhood, an ideal place for lovers of video games and technology.

Practical information

• Location: Tokyo Tower and Tokyo Skytree Solamachi shopping mall.
• When to go: May 5.
• Price: free admission.
• Hours: Activities take place during the day.

The Hanazono Shrine Festival is the main celebration of this shrine and takes place on the weekend closest to May 28th. You can attend any day from Saturday to Monday, as different ceremonies are held on each day. Sometimes the celebrations start as early as Friday.

During the festival a carefully decorated float carries the portable Honsha and Raiden shrine. These sacred objects weigh about 1.5 tons and measure approximately 1 meter wide and 3 meters high. To see the parade carrying these shrines, you must go to the entrance of the shrine or on Yasukuni-dori, Shinjuku-dori or Meiji-dori streets.

In addition to watching the spectacular parade, you can enter the shrine and delight yourself with all the traditional food stalls displaying their dishes. You can buy whatever you want and take as many pictures as you can. If you liked the food, after seeing this festival you can book a food tour in Tokyo and taste the best dishes of Japanese cuisine.

Practical information

• Location: 5 Chome-17-3 Shinjuku, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 160-0022.
• When to go: weekend closest to May 28.
• Price: free admission.
• Hours: activities are held during the day.

Every year on May 23rd, Japan celebrates the Kissing Day or Kisu No Hi. It is a celebration that began after World War II when the population was trying to recover and there was still a lot of taboo around a simple kiss. Nowadays, many couples take advantage of this day to show their love in different places of the country.

It all started in 1946 when the movie Hatachi no Seishun or Youth of 20 years old, by director Yasushi Sasaki, was released. This film was the first to show a kiss in Japanese cinema, which marked the entire population.

If you travel to Tokyo on this date you can celebrate it with your partner by having dinner at the Tokyo Skytree, and take advantage and buy your tickets to climb the highest tower in the world. I also recommend you to visit the Hama-Rikyu Garden, a beautiful natural site in the middle of a busy city. There you can enjoy a good matcha tea with your partner.

Practical information

• Location: Tokyo Skytree or the Hama-Rikyu Garden
• When to go: May 23
• Price: climbing the Skytree Tower is about 15€ and the visit to the Garden is free.
• Hours: Activities are held during the day.

The annual Teppozu Inari Shrine Festival is held from May 2 to May 5. During this celebration, there are processions and kabuki plays performed by children inside the shrine. You can come during these days and see all the customs of this tradition, admire the decorations and take some pictures.

On the first day of the festival, a procession takes place in which followers carry a Mikoshi from the shrine to the Ginza area and back. This is a portable temple that followers of Shinto believe functions as a vehicle for their deities. Sometimes the geisha also participate with their spring dance Azuma Odori which they perform at the shrine.

The following days are ceremonies such as pest extermination or Shinko, as well as Reisai Hohei ceremonies. The last day is Children's Day in Japan, so there is a special parade called Shintomiza Children's Kabuki. This show is performed by high school students. All people who wish can enter the shrine to watch the show.

Practical information

• Location: 1 Chome-6-7 Minato, Chuo City, Tokyo 104-0043.
• When to go: May 2 to 5.
• Price: free admission.
• Hours: activities are held during the day from 9 am.

The Kanda Matsuri festival is held at Kanda Myojin Shrine, located in the Chiyoda district of Tokyo. Normally this festival is held on the weekend closest to May 15.

This festival features the Houren Mikoshi Senzasai ceremony, in which the god of Kanda Myojin is transported in a Mikoshi. It also features the Reitaisai, a dance performed by the miko priestesses. Normally this ceremony is held on Saturday.

I recommend that you prepare to take pictures of the parade on Sunday as you will see about 500 people dressed in traditional Heian period costumes in a procession such as Shinkosai. This leaves from the Kanda Myojin shrine carrying the regional gods Ichinomiya Houren, Ninomiya Mikoshi and Sannomiya Mikoshi on Mikoshis to purify the villages. The celebration is held to ask for prosperity and wealth and the shrine is ideal for those purposes.

Practical information

• Location: 2 Chome-16-2 Sotokanda, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0021.
• When to go: the weekend closest to May 15.
• Price: free admission.
• Hours: activities are held during the day.

The Sanja Matsuri is a festival organized by the Yakuza or Japanese mafia during the third weekend of May in Tokyo's Asakusa neighborhood. Although it sounds a bit strange, this festival is awaited by Tokyo residents and even tourists. It is the only occasion when the country's dreaded mafia makes its presence felt in a celebration filled with a lot of noise and alcohol.

The name of the festival means festival of the three shrines and during it three Mikoshis are moved to the Sensō-ji temple. Each Mikoshi is supposed to represent the founders of the temple. To venerate them thousands of people come to the neighborhood and celebrate with dances to the rhythm of music made with the deafening noises of taiko or Japanese drums, whistles, shouts of people, flutes and whistles.

One of the most striking things about the celebration is that the members of the mafia clans take off their attire until they are dressed only in a fundoshi, the garment worn by sumo wrestlers.

Practical information

• Location: 2 Chome-3-1 Asakusa, Taito City, Tokyo 111-0032.
• When to go: third weekend in May.
• Price: free admission.
• Hours: activities are held during the day.

May is one of the months with the best weather to visit Tokyo. If you decide to travel in this month, I advise you to be prepared to see many tourists in the streets of the capital. However, it is not the highest season of all, so don't panic.

Prices are neither too low nor too high. For example, a hotel room can have an average cost of 120 €. Besides, it is a month where walking will be much more pleasant because of the temperature, so you could save some money on public transportation or cabs.

If you have not yet decided on a month to travel to Tokyo, I recommend you to do it in May. During this month you can enjoy spring-like weather and sunny days. The average temperature is 18 °C in the capital, so there are many festivals and outdoor celebrations.

Although the weather is usually very pleasant, some days it may rain, so it is better to be prepared. On the other hand, the days are longer as they have more than 13 hours of sunshine, more time to enjoy the city!

As I told you before, May is a spring month where the weather is perfect to go for a walk. That's why I recommend you to bring comfortable and light clothes that will allow you to walk calmly through the parks and streets of Tokyo. You can bring a light sweater, long sleeve shirts and maybe a raincoat as it can sometimes rain a little.

If you will be doing activities during the night, it will be better to bring a warm sweater that you can wear. Comfortable and ergonomic shoes should never be missing in your suitcase. Remember that the best way to get to know a city is on foot.