Hiroshima · Month comparison

May vs October

October ranks #1 overall vs May at #6. Miyajima Fire Festival in October and early autumn colour makes this a genuinely great month without April's price spike.

Hiroshima May — Motoyasu River and A-Bomb Dome in warm green city

May

#6 of 12 months

Strong option

Golden Week (May 3–5) is the busiest few days of the year — book or avoid entirely; rest of May is fine.

  • ↑Golden Week Flower Festival fills Heiwa Boulevard with live stages and floats
  • ↑Post-blossom fresh green on Miyajima's Mount Misen — cable car accessible
Hiroshima October — Itsukushima Shrine wooden torii gate at Miyajima

October

#1 of 12 months

Best match

Miyajima Fire Festival in October and early autumn colour makes this a genuinely great month without April's price spike.

  • ↑Miyajima Fire Festival (Taimatsu Shinji) — torchlit procession to the shrine
  • ↑Early autumn maple colour on Mount Misen and Shukkeien Garden
FactorMayOctober
Weather score
7
8
Value score
4
5
Crowd score
3
5
Events score
6
7
Atmosphere
8
8
Avg high temp25°C23°C
Monthly rain130mm90mm
Daily sunshine7hrs6.5hrs

May trade-offs

  • ↓Golden Week May 3–5: trains, ferries, and hotels fully booked weeks ahead
  • ↓Increasing rainfall through May limits evening outdoor dining

October trade-offs

  • ↓Miyajima Fire Festival weekend books hotels weeks ahead
  • ↓Autumn koyo (foliage) season draws crowds back to near-spring levels
See all 12 months for Hiroshima →May in detail →October in detail →
Scores compare months within Hiroshima. Climate data: Open Meteo ERA5 30-year normals (1991–2020). Methodology →