To hot to travel in the summer in north of Japan?
 

I´m planning to travel to Japan from 15/7 to 30/8 2008.
Since I have heard it´s very hot that time of year, I thought it maby is cooler if I travel north. Is this a good idea? Or is it just to hot for a north european?

So I would travel to Niigata and than continue north up along the west coast.
North Honshu for six weeks, or should I even go to Hokkaido to get a more nice temperature?

This is the time of year in can travel during 2008, so should I go or not?

It depends on what you want to see...It is hotter and muggier in the South (West) Japan, but air-conditioning technology is advanced and it doesn't take much to get out of the heat.

I wan´t to be able to stay out doors some times at day. When I travel from one place to another I will carry my backpack. I´m more intrested other things than large cities.

So is it cooler in the north, or is to hot for a nice travel there also?

Help me out here :)

Yes, it's cooler in the north than in the south.

Whether it is still too hot for you is a personal question that only you can answer. What is "too hot and humid" for you may be bearable for another person, and no problem at all for another. Also, some days will be cooler than others, so just what the temperature will be during those exact days is a guess.

For me personally, in the central part of Honshu near Osaka, some days were too hot and humid to want to do anything, and other days weren't bad at all. The further north you go, the more cooler days you'll have. But I'm from northern CA, USA, where we get quite a bit of heat, so I'm perhaps a bit more used to it than someone from Sweden. (However, CA has dry heat, while Japan is very humid... it was the humidity that got to me more than the raw temperature.)

Samurai, I'm from Northern California as well. I'm more concerned with the rain than the heat itself. I should be traveling in late-May until early-July.

You can buy a collapsible umbrella in Japan, and carry it in your backpack. That's what I did... you never know when it'll just start raining for a little while, even on a sunny day...

I know they sell umbrellas at 100 yen shops but I need to research and find them first. Maybe I should bring a cheap umbrella with me in case it rains when I just arrive in Japan.

don't get the 100yen collapsible umbrella, its small and with a little gust of wind it gets easily damage, get the 300-500yen one they are sturdier..

my friend went to hokkaido last summer and even on the pick of summer it was cooler there around 15C, just like spring in osaka.

Summer in Japan, especially in Kansai area is really HELL and that is coming from someone who live in a tropical country all her life. Last year was the hottest I've experienced so far, I hope it would not be as hot this year.

Just be sure to get a sunscreen and some vitamin C. Airconditioning is mandated to be 24C by the goverment so don't expect cooler temperature inside dept.. get a fan too :D

24? That's still not even room temperature by America's standards...

If Kansai is a burning Hell in summer, what is north Honshu then? And how is Hokkaido? Will my plan to travel north away from the heat work u think?

I need more advice before I book my tickets!
If i´m doing anything stupid I wan´t to know :)