Value Village ／ Before you come to Japan
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Japan's winter confuses packers because it is several climates at once: Hokkaido at −10°C, Tokyo dry and sunny at 5–10°C, Okinawa at 18°C — and indoors, trains heated to 25°C while old houses sit at 12°C.
| City | Daily high / low | Precipitation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sapporo | −1°C / −7°C | Snow, typically 50–100 cm on the ground (deepest in February) | Ice on pavements; spiked boots or grip attachments |
| Tokyo | 10°C / 1°C | Very dry, 5–8 sunny days out of 10 | Humidity often 30–40% in the afternoon (monthly average about 50%); static, chapped lips |
| Kyoto | 9°C / 1°C | Occasional snow | Colder than Tokyo indoors; temples are unheated |
| Kanazawa / Niigata | 6°C / 1°C | Heavy snow or rain most days | Waterproof shoes essential |
| Fukuoka | 10°C / 4°C | Cloudy, some snow | — |
| Naha (Okinawa) | 19°C / 15°C | — | Light jacket only |
[Verify] Temperatures with JMA climatological normals (1991–2020); indoor figures are typical ranges.
Check your route: Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka in January is dry, bright and cold at night — a good coat and layers suffice. Add Hokkaido or the Alps and you need snow-rated footwear and gloves.
You will be hot on every train and in every shop. Locals wear a thin heat-retaining base layer, a light mid layer and a coat that they carry indoors (see the layering article). Two thin layers beat one thick one.
Hokkaido pavements are polished ice; visitors fall in numbers each winter (Sapporo's fire department takes well over 1,000 people a season to hospital after falls on snowy roads — a record 1,795 in FY2023). Non-slip soles or clip-on spikes, and walk with short steps.
On the Pacific side, December and January are the driest months; an umbrella is rarely needed. On the Sea of Japan side, snow and wind make umbrellas useless — a waterproof hooded coat works better.
You can — Japanese fast-fashion chains sell excellent heat-retaining underwear for ¥1,000–2,000 — but sizes run small (see the sizing article). Buy base layers here; bring your coat and shoes.
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https://www.data.jma.go.jp/stats/etrn/
https://www.city.sapporo.jp/
https://www.japan.travel/en/plan/
⚠️ Editorial note: the source URLs above were identified by search. Our working environment cannot reach go.jp domains, so the contents have not been checked against the text. Verify every source before publication and record who checked it and when.
What we share here are ideas and everyday practices passed down among people living in Japan, together with general information drawn from public sources. They are not official recommendations, and they are not professional instruction. Practices vary between households and regions.
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