Rain continued to fall in central Tokyo on September 30, meaning precipitation was recorded on every single day of the month for what is believed to be the first time in the city’s observation history. The rainfall streak has also reached 35 consecutive days, extending the longest such run ever recorded in the Japanese capital.
The unusually persistent weather quickly drew attention online. Japanese users joked that they had needed to carry an umbrella every day for an entire month, while others compared present-day Tokyo to Makoto Shinkai’s animated film Weathering With You, in which rain falls endlessly over the city.
According to Japanese weather reports, the prolonged wet conditions were caused by an autumn rain front lingering near Japan’s main island, combined with the successive approaches of Typhoons No. 24, 25, and 26. These systems left the Kanto region prone to rain throughout September, with rain clouds continuing to cover much of southern Kanto from the morning of September 30.
Central Tokyo recorded precipitation on every day from September 1 through 30, marking the first known occasion on which rain was observed on every day of a calendar month. The streak began on August 27 and reached 35 consecutive days on September 30, extending the longest run since official records began in 1876.
The news prompted comments such as, “We need Weathering With You…” Just as in the movie, users joked that Tokyo needed Hina Amano, the mysterious girl with the ability to clear the sky through prayer, to finally bring an end to the seemingly endless rain.
Others jokingly wondered whether the Legendary Pokémon Kyogre might be hiding somewhere in Tokyo Bay. After an entire month in which precipitation was recorded every day, many users were left struggling to make sense of the extraordinary streak.
Extended spells of wet weather are not unusual as Japan transitions into autumn, but recording precipitation on every day of September in central Tokyo is exceptional. Given the record-breaking conditions, it is hardly surprising that online users have turned to Weathering With You and Kyogre jokes to describe the situation.