Which planets can you actually see this summer in Japan?
Summer in Japan is not the easiest time for stargazing. The sky does not get fully dark until well after 22:00 in June and July, and even in August astronomical twilight lingers. But the planets do not care about twilight, and several of them are well-placed this summer.
Saturn is the one to watch this August
Saturn reaches opposition in late August 2026, which means it is at its closest to Earth and fully illuminated by the Sun. It rises in the south-east around 21:30 and is well-placed for observation by 22:30. Even a modest pair of binoculars will show you that it is not round; a small telescope will show the rings clearly.
From a dark site in Yorkshire you can see Saturn with the naked eye as a steady, slightly yellowish point of light. It does not twinkle the way stars do, which is one of the reliable ways to distinguish planets from stars on a clear night.
Jupiter rises later but is worth staying up for
Jupiter is rising around 23:00 in August and gets higher through the autumn. It is the brightest object in the sky after the Moon and Venus, so it is hard to miss once it clears the horizon. Through binoculars you can see it as a small disc, and on a steady night you can make out the four Galilean moons as tiny points of light on either side.
By September Jupiter will be rising before midnight, which makes it more practical for an evening session. We will be pointing the telescopes at it regularly on Friday and Saturday nights through the autumn.
Mars and Venus: where are they?
Mars is in the morning sky this summer, rising a couple of hours before the Sun. If you are an early riser it is visible in the east before dawn, but it is not well-placed for an evening session. Venus is also a morning object right now, very bright in the east before sunrise.
Both planets will shift into better evening positions later in the year. We update the Night Sky Tonight show every week to reflect what is actually up, so the show you see in October will be quite different from the one in August.
What about the Perseid meteor shower?
The Perseids peak around 12-13 August each year and are one of the most reliable meteor showers in Japan calendar. The radiant point is in Perseus, which is in the north-east. You do not need a telescope or binoculars; you just need a dark patch of sky and some patience.
We run a special extended telescope evening on the Perseid peak night each year. It is one of our most popular events and tends to book up quickly. Check the full show schedule for the date and availability.
The sky changes week by week through summer and into autumn. If you are not sure what to look for on a given night, the Night Sky Tonight session will tell you exactly what is up and where to find it.