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Japan in December: climate comparison across Sapporo, Tokyo, Osaka and Naha

Compare Sapporo, Tokyo, Osaka and Naha in December using the 2001-2025 series below to plan winter rail routes and cold-weather gear.

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Climate reference locations

These markers show locations with historical climate estimates for the surrounding area. Choose a location to see its climate table.

Dot: one place · Number: multiple places

On the mapApproximate locationSapporoClimate reference locationView climate table

Map data: Natural Earth

Map markers are for orientation.

4 climate reference locations

All climate reference locations
  1. Sapporo (Climate reference location)
  2. Tokyo (Climate reference location)
  3. Osaka (Climate reference location)
  4. Naha (Climate reference location)

Location coordinates: Sapporo, Tokyo, Osaka, Naha (Wikidata, CC0).

Contrast snowy Hokkaido with dry Pacific Honshu in December

In the 2001-2025 December series, Sapporo averages -4.6 °C with 4.2 mm/day of precipitation (predominantly snow), whereas Tokyo (7.3 °C, 2.7 mm/day) and Osaka (5.0 °C, 2.5 mm/day) enter their drier Pacific winter season and Naha averages 20.6 °C with 2.2 mm/day.

Because sunset arrives early in December across Honshu and Hokkaido, start outdoor shrines, castle parks and viewpoints in the morning and reserve illuminated city districts or museums for late afternoon.

  • Sapporo and northern Japan (-4.6 °C mean): pack insulated winter boots with ice grip, thermal layers and windproof outerwear.
  • Tokyo (7.3 °C) and Osaka/Kyoto (5.0 °C): crisp winter air with lower monthly precipitation (2.5 to 2.7 mm/day) suits city walking with a warm coat.
  • Check year-end closing dates for museums, castles and gardens during the late-December holiday period.

Sources: General Information on Climate of Japan, Tables of Climatological Normals 1991-2020

Read the local month comparison

Across the selected points, mean monthly temperature ranges from -4.6 to 20.6 °C. Mean precipitation ranges from 2.2 to 4.2 mm per day. Those ranges describe this selected point comparison, not every destination in Japan.

Use the comparison for trip planning

  • Check which named point is relevant to the stops on your actual route.
  • Use mean temperature as background for planning your activities. A monthly mean includes both daytime and night-time conditions.
  • Keep alternatives for weather-dependent plans and check a local forecast close to departure.
  • Do not infer rain hours, rainy-day counts or severe-weather risk from millimetres per day.

Source and processing

NASA POWER climatology, 2001-2025. The values are T2M (mean air temperature at two metres, °C) and PRECTOTCORR (mean corrected precipitation, mm/day). City coordinates come from Wikidata. Selection, month extraction, translation, rounding and table arrangement are changes to the original data. NASA POWER data licence: CC BY 4.0. Coordinates: CC0.

Selected coordinates

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Climate by month

These historical gridded estimates describe the area around each coordinate. They are not a forecast for a particular trip. Precipitation in millimetres per day is not a count of rainy days.

Sapporo

Reference period 2001-2025 · Coordinates (latitude, longitude) 43.0619°, 141.3544°

Sapporo (historical monthly values)
MonthMean air temperature at 2 m (°C)Mean precipitation (mm/day)
December-4.64.2

Tokyo

Reference period 2001-2025 · Coordinates (latitude, longitude) 35.6894°, 139.6917°

Tokyo (historical monthly values)
MonthMean air temperature at 2 m (°C)Mean precipitation (mm/day)
December7.32.7

Osaka

Reference period 2001-2025 · Coordinates (latitude, longitude) 34.6938°, 135.5021°

Osaka (historical monthly values)
MonthMean air temperature at 2 m (°C)Mean precipitation (mm/day)
December52.5

Naha

Reference period 2001-2025 · Coordinates (latitude, longitude) 26.2122°, 127.6792°

Naha (historical monthly values)
MonthMean air temperature at 2 m (°C)Mean precipitation (mm/day)
December20.62.2

Sources