Best time to visit Ōtsu

May is the best time to visit Ōtsu for general sightseeing, with average highs of 22 °C and about 11 wet days.

It depends what you are going for

One month rarely wins on everything. These are the best months on each measure taken on its own.

If you want Best month On that measure
Sightseeing and walking May comfort 87/100
The least cloud December 51 % average cloud cover
The least rain January 65 mm
Warmth August 31 °C
Cooler weather January 7.0 °C

Ranked by comfort

# Month Comfort / 100 Avg high Wet days
1 May 87 22 °C 11
2 October 86 21 °C 10
3 June 76 26 °C 15
4 September 74 26 °C 13
5 April 73 17 °C 12
6 November 70 15 °C 8
7 August 58 31 °C 13
8 July 57 29 °C 17
9 March 49 12 °C 12
10 December 47 9.5 °C 8
11 February 38 8.0 °C 9
12 January 36 7.0 °C 8

When to think twice

January scores lowest with about 8 wet days and highs near 7.0 °C. That does not make it a bad month — it depends entirely on what you are travelling for. The numbers are all here; the judgement is yours.

The full year

Month Avg high Rainfall Cloud
January 7.0 °C 65 mm 56 %
February 8.0 °C 74 mm 59 %
March 11.8 °C 121 mm 61 %
April 17.3 °C 134 mm 62 %
May 22.1 °C 155 mm 67 %
June 25.5 °C 215 mm 80 %
July 29.0 °C 236 mm 74 %
August 30.6 °C 139 mm 62 %
September 26.4 °C 191 mm 64 %
October 20.6 °C 164 mm 55 %
November 15.1 °C 82 mm 52 %
December 9.5 °C 66 mm 51 %

Data sources and method

Normal period
1991–2020
Dataset version
era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: comfort score, beach score, season boundaries. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.