Caught in the rain in Japan? Where to buy an umbrella fast

The quickest answer is usually the nearest convenience store. GO TOKYO, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's official travel site, says most convenience stores have a selection of clear plastic umbrellas at reasonable prices, between ¥500 and ¥1,500. Chains also sell their own folding models: according to FamilyMart's release, its Convenience Wear range added new colours of a rain-or-shine mini umbrella (47 cm ribs, ¥2,490 including tax) and a lighter slim umbrella (54 cm ribs, ¥2,990 including tax) at stores nationwide in April 2026.

Daiso, the 100-yen shop chain, sells umbrellas too, though not all at ¥100: its official online store lists a 70 cm wind-resistant clear umbrella with a glass-fibre frame at ¥550 including tax. The page doesn't say which branches stock it, and online orders ship three to five days after confirmation, so for today, walk into a branch and look.

If you'd rather not carry an umbrella around afterwards, try iKasa (アイカサ), an umbrella-sharing service. You find a spot on its app's map, scan the umbrella's QR code to borrow it and return it at any nearby iKasa spot; it costs from ¥140 for less than an hour. Spots are listed in Hokkaido, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Ibaraki, Chiba, Aichi, Gifu, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, Fukuoka, Saga and Okayama, and the service says it has been installed by railway companies, office buildings, universities and shopping centres, among others. One catch: umbrellas from the Fukuoka, Saga, Mito and Sapporo areas use a different lock from those in the Tokyo, Kansai, Chubu and Okayama areas, and can't be returned across the two.

The most important etiquette point is also a safety one. In a 2025 survey of 2,000 Tokyo residents, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government found that 44.0% had been hurt or nearly hurt by an umbrella, most often on station stairs and escalators — for example, by the tip of an umbrella someone was carrying horizontally. In its tests, a horizontally held umbrella swung like a walking arm struck with a force of up to 240 kgf, concentrated on the tip. Its advice: always hold a closed umbrella by the handle with the tip pointing straight down, and remember that the length on the label is the length of the ribs, so the umbrella itself is longer.

Before you go inside a shop, temple or inn, shake the umbrella off and look for a stand by the door rather than dripping across the floor. Some buildings have locking umbrella stands, like the ones at the entrance to Fukuoka Art Museum in the photo.

Then keep track of it. In 2025 the Tokyo Metropolitan Police took in 331,882 umbrellas as found property, and of the umbrellas it dealt with that year, only 4,671 went back to their owners. A clear umbrella is hard to tell from everyone else's, so a charm or band on the handle helps. If you do lose something, JNTO lists a police lost-and-found number, 0570-550-142.

A konbini umbrella gets you through today; for the rest of the trip it may be worth ordering online. Useful categories: a light folding umbrella that fits in a day bag, a rain cover for your backpack, a cover for your suitcase if you'll be walking from the station to your inn, waterproof shoes or overshoes, and a poncho for times when an umbrella isn't practical, such as on a trail.

Rakuten Ichiba lets you collect parcels at a FamilyMart, Lawson or MiniStop, though which chains you can use depends on the shop; choose コンビニ受取 (konbini pickup) as the delivery method at checkout. It isn't available for parcels over 100 cm (length, width and height combined) or 10 kg, for date- or time-specified delivery, or for cash on delivery. You have two days from arrival at the store to collect at FamilyMart when Yamato delivers, and three days for the other store-and-carrier combinations Rakuten lists.

To have a parcel sent to the inn itself, ask the ryokan first. Yamato Transport says it can deliver to a hotel or ryokan if the accommodation is willing to accept the parcel, and asks that it be sent at least two days before check-in — three, depending on distance. Amazon.co.jp has its own pickup options; our guide to delivery to your ryokan covers both shops.

Ask the front desk first: many inns keep umbrellas for guests. Among the inns in our directory, Kusatsu Onsen Daitokan lends umbrellas free, reviewers of Kusatsu Onsen Kanemidori mention staff meeting cars with umbrellas, Shima Onsen Kashiwaya Ryokan offers umbrellas or straw hats for rain at its private open-air baths, and Fukiya in Yugawara provides rain hats for its roofless rooftop baths. Some inns help with transport, too: Ryokan Wakaba in Kurokawa picked up a solo traveller from the nearby bus stop in the rain in 2025 (ask ahead if you're arriving by bus), Ibusuki Shusuien runs guests back from the public Saraku sand bath by bus when it rains, and staff at Kinokuniya Jinpachi in Dorogawa drove guests to their car in the rain.

Rain matters most where the bath is outside the main building. At KAI Kirishima you walk from the slope car to the bath under an umbrella when it rains; in Ochiairo's Tsuyukusa room, a September 2026 guest disliked needing an umbrella to reach the onsen; and at Kotohira Hananoyu Koubaitei you'll get wet walking to the garden bathhouse, so our report suggests the basement baths instead. At Atami Sekitei you walk outdoors over uneven stone and steep steps to dinner and the baths, which are open-air only, with a washing area mostly open to the rain; Myoken Ishiharaso's baths are reached by outdoor stairs and slopes; and Yarimikan's many stone steps can be slippery after rain. If you want to bathe whatever the weather, all of Yamashiro Onsen Rurikoh's shared baths, outdoor ones included, are roofed.

At a remote inn, don't count on a shop nearby: arrive with a compact umbrella and a dry pair of socks, and if you're having rain gear delivered, check first that the inn can accept parcels.

Japan's rainy season (tsuyu) moves north through late spring and early summer. The Japan Meteorological Agency's averages for 1991–2020 put it at around 10 May to 21 June in Okinawa, 30 May to 15 July in southern Kyushu, 6 June to 19 July in Kinki, 7 June to 19 July in Kanto-Koshin (the Tokyo region) and 15 June to 28 July in northern Tohoku; Hokkaido isn't on the agency's list. Each date marks the middle of a changeover that takes about five days on average, and the agency fixes each year's dates only after the season. JNTO's weather page puts it simply: the rainy season begins in May to June.

Typhoons are a late-summer and autumn risk. JNTO warns that August and September may bring typhoons that can thwart travel plans. On the agency's 1991–2020 averages, about 25 typhoons form each year, 11.7 come within 300 km of a weather station in Japan and 3.0 make landfall on Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku or Kyushu; approaches peak in August and September (3.3 each), and Okinawa and Amami see 7.9 a year.

For alerts, the Japan Tourism Agency's free app Safety tips pushes earthquake early warnings, tsunami warnings and other weather warnings in 15 languages, including English, Korean and both forms of Chinese. JNTO's Japan Visitor Hotline (050-3816-2787, or +81-50-3816-2787 from abroad) answers 24 hours a day, every day, in English, Chinese and Korean, including in natural disasters.

Check your inn's rules, too. Yado Hanaya Tokubei in Dorogawa waives cancellation fees only when an official typhoon or snow warning is in force; the road to Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan closes in heavy rain or snow, and a June 2026 booking was cancelled for that reason; near Obokekyo Mannaka, the Oboke Gorge sightseeing boats are cancelled after heavy rain; Shiobara Onsen Yumori Tanakaya's riverside baths close in rain or when the river is high; and at Fukuzumiro in Hakone, guests found the river louder than expected after heavy rain or a typhoon.

If your umbrella is coming home with you, check your airline. ANA lists one umbrella, along with one coat, among the items you can take on board regardless of its carry-on size rules, without it counting toward your baggage allowance, on both its domestic and international flights. Other airlines set their own rules, so look at their baggage pages before you fly; a folding umbrella packed inside your bag avoids the question.

Next trip, pack for rain from the start: a light folding umbrella in your day bag, a rain cover for your pack and shoes that can cope with puddles. If you're travelling in early summer or typhoon season, check the forecast before long walks or mountain roads, and keep your inn's phone number to hand.