(Photo by Shoji Kudaka)
It’s official! The rainy season began on the islands of Okinawa.
On Thursday, May 22, the Japan Meteorological Agency announced the arrival of the tsuyu season for Okinawa and the Amami Islands for 2025. This announcement came one day later than last year and 12 days later than average.
This season is called Tsuyu or 梅雨, which means plum rain, as it coincides with the seasonal ripening of this luscious and sour fruit, according to one theory. Constant gray skies and gloomy showers can only mean one thing.
This year, the season first arrived in South Kyushu on May 16, which was quite unusual because the rainy season front travels south to north.
While the Amami Islands found themselves in the rainy season on May 19, three days earlier than Okinawa, mainland Japan is expected to head into it in June. Cold northerly and warm southerly air masses collide to create 45 to 50 days of continuous dreary weather, from drizzle to torrential rain.
Statistics suggest that the rainy season in Okinawa will continue this year until mid to late June.
