July is hot and steamy. The Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival makes it all worthwhile for one evening.
Temperatures and humidity are both high, making sightseeing in the middle of the day genuinely uncomfortable. Tokyo's solution: start early, retreat to air-conditioned spaces at midday (Tokyo has no shortage of excellent options), and come out again in the evening. Summer festivals and fireworks displays are spectacular. Tanabata decorations fill shopping streets with elaborate paper ornaments.
