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As the Japanese archipelago stretches over a distance of thousands
of kilometres, the climate varies considerably from Hokkaido in
the north (short mild summers and long summers with heavy snowfall)
to the subtropical climate of Okinawa in the south. Also, on the
mainland, you often get large differences between the Japan Sea
coast (colder fronts from Siberia) and the Pacific coast (warmer
sea currents called kuroshio or Japan Current). Here's a general
sesonal guide, though temperatures are obviously colder/warmer
to the north/south of the mainland:
Winters (December-February) are long with lots of snow in Hokkaido,
the Japan Alps and much of the Japan Sea coast. The rest of the
mainland gets some amount of snow - sometimes little or none -
and temperatures hover in the low single digits. But the weather
is usually clear and a damn sight better than the cold and damp
European winters I grew up in. Tokyo doesn't usually get much
snow and even when it does snow, it doesn't usually stay on the
ground long.
Spring (March-May) is probably the best time to visit Japan with
cherry trees blossoming and mild weather, though the Golden Week
holidays are an expensive time. If you attend a cherry-blossom
viewing party, you'll probably enjoy a nice warm afternoon but
need a sweater in the evening. This is assuming that you don't
get rained out though. It seems that the rain front that usually
follows behind the so-called "cherry-blossom front" is what strips
most of the blossoms from the trees.
Summer (June-August) is oppresively hot and humid (almost 40 degrees
in many places in recent years and over 30 degrees most days for
several months) everywhere except Hokkaido and the mountains.
Actually the humidity is probably the killer as it can be very
uncomfortable even when temperatures are moderate. There's a rainy
season (tsuyu) in June and the typhoon (typhoo) season in September
that marks the end of summer/beginning of autumn.
Autumn is a time of changeable, unpredictable but generally mild
weather - apart from the typhoons obviously - and is considered
the time when many Japanese foods are at their most delicious.
But if you're planning a gourmet trip around this time, make a
point of checking the short-term weather forecast. The good thing
about typhoons is that you can see them coming, usually at least
three or four days in advance. The bigger typhoons can cause huge
amounts of damage and most years deaths from flooding, landslides
and the like are not uncommon. During this season, you'll find
it hard to tell whether you're wet through from the rain or the
sweat, especially if you're unlucky enough to have to do a rush-hour
commute. Hokkaido is usually lucky enough not to be hit by these
storms.
The following table shows average temperature (Celcius) and rainfall (millimeters) for eight cities spread over the length of Japan. Remember that the figures are averages - recent summers have seen temperatures reaching 40 degrees in some places.
City |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Sapporo |
-5
114 |
-4
92 |
0
78 |
6
65 |
12
59 |
16
76 |
20
80 |
21
131 |
17
142 |
11
115 |
4
104 |
-2
101 |
Sendai |
1
46 |
1
48 |
4
72 |
10
82 |
15
109 |
18
141 |
22
160 |
24
153 |
20
175 |
14
116 |
9
69 |
4
49 |
Tokyo |
5
54 |
5
63 |
8
102 |
14
128 |
18
148 |
22
181 |
25
125 |
27
137 |
23
193 |
17
181 |
12
93 |
7
56 |
Nagano |
-1
57 |
0
47 |
3
55 |
10
67 |
16
79 |
19
140 |
24
149 |
25
102 |
20
126 |
13
77 |
7
46 |
2
43 |
Kyoto |
4
57 |
5
67 |
8
108 |
14
163 |
18
156 |
22
247 |
26
250 |
28
176 |
23
206 |
17
118 |
11
75 |
6
45 |
Hiroshima |
4
53 |
5
65 |
8
101 |
13
174 |
18
161 |
21
254 |
26
269 |
27
124 |
23
188 |
17
104 |
12
72 |
7
40 |
Kagoshima |
7
95 |
8
106 |
11
147 |
16
256 |
20
275 |
23
475 |
27
323 |
28
209 |
25
211 |
20
108 |
14
92 |
9
80 |
Naha |
16
120 |
16
118 |
18
144 |
21
168 |
24
249 |
26
293 |
28
193 |
28
260 |
27
166 |
24
186 |
21
142 |
18
117 |
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