Japan in January

Cold, dry and clear in the cities after 3 Jan; ski season in Hokkaidō and the Alps.

• Hokkaidō · Sapporo, Nisekocool

  Snow Dec–Mar (ski season); the only main region without a real rainy season.

• Honshū cities · Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshimacool

  Rainy season June to mid-July; humid heat July–August; typhoon risk peaks in September.

• Okinawa · Naha, Ishigakifine

  Subtropical; rainy season May–June, typhoons July–September.

• Kansai: Kyoto / Osaka · Kansai basin and baycool

  Rainy season (tsuyu) June to mid-July; Kyoto's basin holds heat — 35 °C+ days in August; typhoons Aug–Sep can shut KIX for a day.

• Kyoto9° / 1°, 9 rain days
• Osaka10° / 3°, 5 rain days
• Tokyo10° / 1°, 5 rain days
• Nagoya10° / 1°, 5 rain days

Dates as our data lists them. Moving holidays (lunar and Islamic calendars, Easter) shift every year: check the date for your year before you build a trip on it.

• New Year (Shōgatsu) big impact

  29 Dec – 3 Jan

  Shops, museums and many restaurants close; shrines packed on 1–3 Jan; trains full on 29–30 Dec and 2–3 Jan.

• New Year shrine visits (hatsumōde)

  1–3 January · Osaka

  Sumiyoshi Taisha draws some of the largest crowds in Kansai; one-way routes from the station. The castle keep, museums and many restaurants close around 28 Dec–3 Jan.

• Tōka Ebisu

  9–11 January · Osaka

  About a million visitors buy lucky bamboo branches for business; lanes packed day and night.

• Doya Doya check

  14 January · Osaka

  Young men in loincloths scramble for paper talismans; short, crowded, free to watch.

• New Year greeting at the Imperial Palace check

  2 January · Tokyo

  The one day the public enters the inner palace plaza; security queues from early morning.

• Coming of Age Day

  Second Monday of January · Tokyo

  20-year-olds in kimono and suits at shrines; a public holiday, so museums shift their closing day.

• Grand Sumo tournaments check

  15 days, starting the second Sunday of the month · Tokyo

  Tickets sell out on release weekends; same-day unreserved seats in small numbers (check).

Crowds · Japan

Low

Prices · Japan

Low

• Layers: a fleece or light jacket

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Rated best or good this month

• Kyoto

  Cold, clear, fewer people (after Jan 3).

• Osaka

  Cold; quiet after Jan 3.

• Tokyo

  Cold, clear skies.

• Sapporo

  Best months: Jun–Sep for cool summers, Dec–Feb for snow and the festival