Surviving Summer in Japan: From Suikawari to Matsuri & More

Summer in Japan opens with the muggy, rainy season known as tsuyu and gives way to months of unbearable heat and stifling humidity. In such sweltering hot weather, it’s a wonder that anyone would even want to venture outside. But summertime is also a season of fun traditions and exceptional sights, from the vision of elegant summer yukata to the nighttime spectacular of fireworks festivals and the quintessential summer sounds of furin wind chimes and buzzing cicadas.

People in Japan arm themselves for the season with paper folding fans, hand towels to mop up the sweat, and even UV blocking parasols. In addition, they’ve devised plenty of tricks for keeping cool during the summer months. If you’re up for experiencing a Japanese summer, read on for some ideas about food, fun and tips for surviving the summer weather.

Camping and Mountain Climbing

As a mountainous island nation, Japan has over a thousand peaks. While this makes for some seriously great hiking and climbing, you don’t have to be a pro trekker to enjoy yourself on the trail. Over 300,000 people a year scale the famous Mt. Fuji, which is open for its summer climbing season from July to September. Mountain treks offer cooler temperatures than sea level—just be sure to bring the extra-strength sunblock as the atmosphere is thinner with less UV protection at higher altitudes.
One benefit of being outdoors and active in the heat and humidity is that it allows your body to acclimate more quickly to the summer weather, which improves the effectiveness of the body’s natural cooling system. Of course, those with health concerns should take care not to overdo it, and it’s important to consult with a doctor whenever introducing any new or strenuous activity into your lifestyle.

Beach Parties and Suikawari

If you’re planning a summer escape to the beach during the summer season in Japan, you should know that the country offers plenty of coastline for swimming, surfing, and snorkeling. Beach parties, also hugely popular, would not be complete without a game of suikawari, or “split the watermelon,” which involves attempting to crack open a watermelon on the beach with a long stick while your friends shouting out directions on where to swing. Did we mention that you’ll be blindfolded during all this?

Japanese Summer Festivals

For those looking for more leisurely activities to do during summer in Japan, the season is full of summer matsuri—outdoor festivals featuring yatai food stands, festival games, music, dance, and even spectacular fireworks displays. Japan has some of the most highly skilled fireworks artisans in the world, all crafting gorgeous fireworks for exhibitions held nearly every weekend through July and August. People of all ages dress up for these events in yukata, a type of light summer kimono, and traditional casual wear known as junbei.

Beer Gardens and Drinking Parties

Beer gardens also open up during the summer season in Japan, and there are plenty of rooftop and outdoor beer gardens at which to drink with friends and coworkers and pass the time. Summer drinking is so popular in Japan that people have even invented a term for it known as shokibarai, or “drinking away the heat”.

Summer Drinks

In addition to alcohol, Japan offers a wide range of non-alcoholic refreshments for cooling off, including mugicha (a type of roasted barley tea) and Jasmine tea, both of which are served ice cold during the summer in Japan.

Chilled Japanese Noodles

Chilled noodle dishes are another type of food that’s popular in Japan during the summer. Hiyashi chuka is a noodle salad made with chilled ramen noodles and toppings, while zaru soba is cold buckwheat noodles served on a bamboo basket with dipping sauce. Somen, a type of thin white noodle that’s similar to vermicelli, even has a fun way of being eaten called nagashi somen. The noodles are served in cold flowing water down a long pipe made of split bamboo, and diners are meant to catch the noodles with their chopsticks as they flow by.

Kakigori

For dessert, there’s no Japanese summer treat quite like kakigori, or shaved ice. In Japan, shaved ice has a unique, feather-like texture and is served with a wide variety of toppings and flavored syrups. Enjoy it with sweetened and condensed milk and freshly cut fruit, or try out more traditional ingredients like matcha green tea powder, adzuki red bean, and tiny rice dumplings called shiruko. Be sure to look for the special banner indicating a kakigori seller, which feature the Chinese character for “ice” (氷) in red and blue waves beneath it. Kakigori is sold everywhere in Japan from matsuri food stands to sweet shops during the summer.

Doyo no Ushi no Hi

Japan also has a tradition called Doyo no Ushi no Hi, or the “Midsummer Day of the Ox”, which involves eating foods that start with the same letter as ushi, the Japanese word for ox. This includes foods like umeboshi (pickled plum), uri (a type of summer gourd), and udon flour noodles. These foods are typically high in vitamin E and other nutrients that make it easier to combat natsubate, or summer fatigue.

Eating at Japanese Restaurants

If all else fails, you can always seek respite from the sweltering heat at a restaurant. Be sure to check out our listing of great places to eat in Japan during the summertime, serving chilled noodle dishes, ice cold desserts, and more!

Despite the heat, summer in Japan is awesome. There are tons of foods, drinks, and activities that can only be enjoyed as things heat up, and with so much to do, you’ll be enjoying yourself so much that it won’t be long before you barely even notice the weather.