Tokyo vs Seoul: which should you visit?

Not opinion — measurement. Month-by-month weather under disclosed thresholds, the currency picture at a dated central-bank rate, verified venue depth, and the live events calendar. Every number on this page carries its source.

Mount Fuji's dark silhouette floats above Tokyo's endless grid of towers at dusk, the sky melting from peach to indigo as the city's lights begin to flicker on
Tokyo
A railway bridge cuts across the Han River beneath Seoul's skyline at dusk, the 63 Building anchoring a horizon that melts from peach to deep violet as city lights flicker on across Yeouido
Seoul

The verdict, computed

Choose Tokyo for:

  • Weather: Tokyo leads in Jul–Aug and Nov–Feb.
  • Sightseeing depth: 625 catalogued attractions vs 328.
  • Food scene: 33,965 catalogued food & drink venues vs 19,647.

Choose Seoul for:

  • Weather: Seoul leads in Mar–Jun and Sep–Oct.

When each city wins

Measured weather favors Tokyo in Jul–Aug and Nov–Feb and Seoul in Mar–Jun and Sep–Oct.

City Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Tokyo Tokyo in Jan: a shoulder month — 9° highs, 4 rain days. Tokyo in Feb: a shoulder month — 11° highs, 6 rain days. Tokyo in Mar: a shoulder month — 15° highs, 12 rain days. Tokyo in Apr: a shoulder month — 20° highs, 12 rain days. Tokyo in May: a shoulder month — 23° highs, 15 rain days. Tokyo in Jun: a shoulder month — 27° highs, 14 rain days. Tokyo in Jul: a shoulder month — 32° highs, 14 rain days. Tokyo in Aug: a shoulder month — 33° highs, 13 rain days. Tokyo in Sep: measurably difficult — 29° highs, 14 rain days. Tokyo in Oct: a shoulder month — 22° highs, 12 rain days. Tokyo in Nov: good — 17° highs, 7 rain days. Tokyo in Dec: a shoulder month — 12° highs, 6 rain days.
Month winner Jan: Tokyo wins — Tokyo is mixed to Seoul's difficult. Feb: Tokyo wins — Tokyo is mixed to Seoul's difficult. Mar: Seoul wins — Both mixed; Seoul has 7 rain days to Tokyo's 12. Apr: Seoul wins — Seoul is ideal to Tokyo's mixed. May: Seoul wins — Seoul is good to Tokyo's mixed. Jun: Seoul wins — Both mixed; Seoul has 12 rain days to Tokyo's 14. Jul: Tokyo wins — Tokyo is mixed to Seoul's difficult. Aug: Tokyo wins — Tokyo is mixed to Seoul's difficult. Sep: Seoul wins — Both difficult; Seoul has 11 rain days to Tokyo's 14. Oct: Seoul wins — Seoul is good to Tokyo's mixed. Nov: Tokyo wins — Tokyo is good to Seoul's mixed. Dec: Tokyo wins — Tokyo is mixed to Seoul's difficult.
Seoul Seoul in Jan: measurably difficult — 2° highs, 4 rain days. Seoul in Feb: measurably difficult — 5° highs, 4 rain days. Seoul in Mar: a shoulder month — 12° highs, 7 rain days. Seoul in Apr: ideal — 18° highs, 7 rain days. Seoul in May: good — 22° highs, 9 rain days. Seoul in Jun: a shoulder month — 27° highs, 12 rain days. Seoul in Jul: measurably difficult — 30° highs, 18 rain days. Seoul in Aug: measurably difficult — 29° highs, 18 rain days. Seoul in Sep: measurably difficult — 26° highs, 11 rain days. Seoul in Oct: good — 19° highs, 9 rain days. Seoul in Nov: a shoulder month — 12° highs, 6 rain days. Seoul in Dec: measurably difficult — 3° highs, 4 rain days.

Weather: Open-Meteo multi-year normals; bands per the disclosed best-months thresholds. Winner per month = better band, then fewer rain days, then highs nearer 23.5 °C.

Your money, measured

Tokyo — Japanese yen

The Japanese yen has weakened 6.3% against the US dollar over the past year — your money goes further in Tokyo right now.

Seoul — South Korean won

The South Korean won has weakened 3.1% against the US dollar over the past year — your money goes further in Seoul right now.

Japanese yenSouth Korean won
100 10287Japanese yen: 100.0 on 4 Aug 2025Japanese yen: 99.7 on 11 Aug 2025Japanese yen: 99.9 on 18 Aug 2025Japanese yen: 100.0 on 25 Aug 2025Japanese yen: 100.1 on 1 Sept 2025Japanese yen: 99.7 on 8 Sept 2025Japanese yen: 100.0 on 15 Sept 2025Japanese yen: 99.7 on 22 Sept 2025Japanese yen: 99.1 on 29 Sept 2025Japanese yen: 98.2 on 6 Oct 2025Japanese yen: 96.9 on 13 Oct 2025Japanese yen: 97.8 on 20 Oct 2025Japanese yen: 96.4 on 27 Oct 2025Japanese yen: 95.6 on 3 Nov 2025Japanese yen: 95.6 on 10 Nov 2025Japanese yen: 95.2 on 17 Nov 2025Japanese yen: 93.9 on 24 Nov 2025Japanese yen: 95.2 on 1 Dec 2025Japanese yen: 94.8 on 8 Dec 2025Japanese yen: 95.0 on 15 Dec 2025Japanese yen: 93.7 on 22 Dec 2025Japanese yen: 94.3 on 29 Dec 2025Japanese yen: 94.0 on 5 Jan 2026Japanese yen: 93.4 on 12 Jan 2026Japanese yen: 93.3 on 19 Jan 2026Japanese yen: 95.6 on 26 Jan 2026Japanese yen: 95.0 on 2 Feb 2026Japanese yen: 94.4 on 9 Feb 2026Japanese yen: 96.1 on 16 Feb 2026Japanese yen: 95.2 on 23 Feb 2026Japanese yen: 93.6 on 2 Mar 2026Japanese yen: 93.0 on 9 Mar 2026Japanese yen: 92.6 on 16 Mar 2026Japanese yen: 93.0 on 23 Mar 2026Japanese yen: 92.4 on 30 Mar 2026Japanese yen: 92.2 on 7 Apr 2026Japanese yen: 92.8 on 14 Apr 2026Japanese yen: 92.7 on 21 Apr 2026Japanese yen: 92.3 on 28 Apr 2026Japanese yen: 93.4 on 5 May 2026Japanese yen: 93.5 on 12 May 2026Japanese yen: 92.6 on 19 May 2026Japanese yen: 92.6 on 26 May 2026Japanese yen: 92.3 on 2 Jun 2026Japanese yen: 92.0 on 9 Jun 2026Japanese yen: 91.9 on 16 Jun 2026Japanese yen: 91.2 on 23 Jun 2026Japanese yen: 90.7 on 30 Jun 2026Japanese yen: 91.0 on 7 Jul 2026Japanese yen: 90.8 on 14 Jul 2026Japanese yen: 90.6 on 21 Jul 2026Japanese yen: 89.9 on 28 Jul 2026Japanese yen: 94.1 on 3 Aug 2026Japanese yen 94.1South Korean won: 100.0 on 4 Aug 2025South Korean won: 99.4 on 11 Aug 2025South Korean won: 99.8 on 18 Aug 2025South Korean won: 99.7 on 25 Aug 2025South Korean won: 99.3 on 1 Sept 2025South Korean won: 99.7 on 8 Sept 2025South Korean won: 99.7 on 15 Sept 2025South Korean won: 99.5 on 22 Sept 2025South Korean won: 98.7 on 29 Sept 2025South Korean won: 98.0 on 6 Oct 2025South Korean won: 96.9 on 13 Oct 2025South Korean won: 97.2 on 20 Oct 2025South Korean won: 96.6 on 27 Oct 2025South Korean won: 96.8 on 3 Nov 2025South Korean won: 95.2 on 10 Nov 2025South Korean won: 94.7 on 17 Nov 2025South Korean won: 93.9 on 24 Nov 2025South Korean won: 94.4 on 1 Dec 2025South Korean won: 94.4 on 8 Dec 2025South Korean won: 94.4 on 15 Dec 2025South Korean won: 93.5 on 22 Dec 2025South Korean won: 96.3 on 29 Dec 2025South Korean won: 95.5 on 5 Jan 2026South Korean won: 94.3 on 12 Jan 2026South Korean won: 93.9 on 19 Jan 2026South Korean won: 95.6 on 26 Jan 2026South Korean won: 95.3 on 2 Feb 2026South Korean won: 94.6 on 9 Feb 2026South Korean won: 96.0 on 16 Feb 2026South Korean won: 95.9 on 23 Feb 2026South Korean won: 94.6 on 2 Mar 2026South Korean won: 93.2 on 9 Mar 2026South Korean won: 92.8 on 16 Mar 2026South Korean won: 93.0 on 23 Mar 2026South Korean won: 91.2 on 30 Mar 2026South Korean won: 92.4 on 7 Apr 2026South Korean won: 94.1 on 14 Apr 2026South Korean won: 94.1 on 21 Apr 2026South Korean won: 93.7 on 28 Apr 2026South Korean won: 93.9 on 5 May 2026South Korean won: 92.9 on 12 May 2026South Korean won: 91.7 on 19 May 2026South Korean won: 91.9 on 26 May 2026South Korean won: 91.2 on 2 Jun 2026South Korean won: 90.7 on 9 Jun 2026South Korean won: 91.7 on 16 Jun 2026South Korean won: 90.1 on 23 Jun 2026South Korean won: 89.2 on 30 Jun 2026South Korean won: 91.4 on 7 Jul 2026South Korean won: 92.5 on 14 Jul 2026South Korean won: 93.6 on 21 Jul 2026South Korean won: 94.8 on 28 Jul 2026South Korean won: 97.0 on 3 Aug 2026South Korean won 97.0
Currency value against the US dollar, indexed to 100 one year ago — above 100 means the currency strengthened (your dollars buy less). Source: European Central Bank reference rates, as of 2026-08-03.

Price levels (country-wide indicator)

Price levels in Japan run about 66% of US levels (World Bank PPP, 2025) — a dollar stretches roughly 1.5× further than at home.

Price levels in South Korea run about 62% of US levels (World Bank PPP, 2025) — a dollar stretches roughly 1.6× further than at home.

Editorial daily-cost estimates

City Budget Mid-range Luxury
Tokyo $55 $130 $350
Seoul $45 $110 $300

Editorial estimates in USD per person per day, quoted from our editor-signed Tokyo budget guide and Seoul budget guide — not a measurement. Model a full trip in the cost comparison tool.

Depth of things to do

Attractions & sights
Attractions & sights: Tokyo 625, Seoul 328 in our verified catalog.
Food & drink venues
Food & drink venues: Tokyo 33,965, Seoul 19,647 in our verified catalog.
Museums
Museums: Tokyo 178, Seoul 89 in our verified catalog.
Parks & gardens
Parks & gardens: Tokyo 258, Seoul 123 in our verified catalog.

Tokyo's catalog is led by Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower, Tokyo Skytree, Tokyo Tower.

Seoul's catalog is led by Changdeokgung, Gyeongbokgung, Blue House.

Counts from the TTDI verified venue catalog (every venue carries an external identity source). Catalog density partly reflects source coverage per city.

Things to do in Tokyo → Things to do in Seoul →

What's actually on

Our events feed has no coverage for either city yet.

From the live events feed we sync daily — listings exist only where measured coverage does.

Side by side

Distance apart
1,152 km
Time zones
Same clock
City population
13,960,000 vs 9,776,000
Local language
Japanese vs Korean
Currency
Japanese yen vs South Korean won

Or visit both

1,152 km apart, and plenty of trips pair them. One search covers the connection:

See Tokyo ⇄ Seoul flights on Omio →

Book the connection

One search across trains, buses & flights — live times and prices for Tokyo ⇄ Seoul.

Answered from the data

Which is better to visit right now, in August?

Tokyo, on measured weather: Tokyo is mixed to Seoul's difficult.

Which is cheaper, Tokyo or Seoul?

World Bank PPP (country-level, not city prices) puts Seoul's country at ~62% of US price levels and Tokyo's at ~66% — an edge to Seoul before you factor in season and neighborhood.

When should I pick Tokyo over Seoul?

Jul–Aug and Nov–Feb — measured weather favors Tokyo then.

When should I pick Seoul over Tokyo?

Mar–Jun and Sep–Oct — measured weather favors Seoul then.

Which has more to do?

In our verified catalog, Tokyo lists 625 attractions and 33,965 food & drink venues; Seoul lists 328 and 19,647.

Go deeper

Tokyo

Seoul