Kumamoto has a humid subtropical climate. Summers (June to September) are hot and sticky, with the rainy season (tsuyu) compressed into June; typhoons can interrupt travel in August and September. Spring and autumn are the best seasons — early April for cherry blossom around the castle moat, late November for the maple colours at Suizenji and Tatsuda.
The Boshita Festival in mid-September at Fujisaki Hachimangū fills the streets with decorated horses; the Higo-Hosokawa Cherry Festival in early April brings night-time castle illuminations and food stalls along the moat.