Japan in January
Cold and dry, with silent temples. The low season starts once the New Year holiday ends on January 3. Good, if dry cold doesn't bother you. The clearest skies of the year. The country empties out after January 3.
Temperature
10°C (50°F) / 1°C (34°F)
in Tokyo, afternoon and night
Crowds
quiet
across the cities we track (checked Oct 16)
Ryokan booking
already open
traditional inns · don't wait for a discount
Japan weather in January, north to south
| City | Afternoon / night | Rain or snow |
|---|---|---|
| Sapporo north (Hokkaido) | 0°C (32°F) / -6°C (21°F) | about average 108 mm, one day in 2 |
| Tokyo central (Kanto) | 10°C (50°F) / 1°C (34°F) | little rain 60 mm, one day in 7 |
| Kyoto central (Kansai) | 9°C (48°F) / 2°C (36°F) | little rain 53 mm, one day in 5 |
| Osaka central (Kansai) | 10°C (50°F) / 3°C (37°F) | little rain 47 mm, one day in 6 |
| Naha far south (Okinawa) | 20°C (68°F) / 15°C (59°F) | little rain 102 mm, one day in 3 |
137 cm of snow falls on Sapporo in January, its snowiest month. See “The four seasons” in the month-by-month overview
Thirty-year averages (1991-2020) recorded by the Japan Meteorological Agency, which tell you the month's usual climate and not the weather you will actually get on the dates you have chosen. Last checked August 8, 2026.
Roughly what it costs
Occupancy (official statistics, 2023-2025)
busy
55%
Price range per night
per night, two people
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The dates in January
January 2027 has 2 public holidays and 2 dates when something is happening, and the nights before those holidays are the most expensive of the month: ryokan charge their Saturday rate for them.
New Year
Hatsumode, the first shrine visit of the year, which many people make in kimono. Museums and restaurants often stay shut until January 3.
everything fills up
January sumo tournament (Hatsu-basho), Tokyo
Fifteen days at the Ryogoku Kokugikan. Tickets go a month ahead, the weekend dates first.
Tokyo fills up
Public holiday: Coming-of-Age Day
Twenty-year-olds in kimono outside town halls and shrines, all morning.
everything fills up
quiet
nothing to plan around
If your dates can move: shift by a day to miss the nights before a holiday.
If they are fixed: book those nights first, they are the ones that go fastest. The rest of the month can wait.
Where to start
The order matters more than how early you get to it.
Kyoto and the small stops first
Kyoto, Kanazawa, Takayama, and any night in a ryokan: few rooms, and the whole of Japan is aiming at the same dates, so this is where rooms run out first, not in Tokyo.
Tokyo and Osaka can wait
Tens of thousands of rooms. These cities are never really full. The simplest approach is still to book it all in one go, on free cancellation rates for whatever might still move.
Three questions about January
Is January cold in Japan?
In Tokyo, 10°C (50°F) in the afternoon and 1°C (34°F) at night on average, while at the same moment Sapporo sits at 0°C (32°F) and Naha at 20°C (68°F). 137 cm of snow falls on Sapporo in January, its snowiest month.
Is January cheaper?
Across the cities we track, this is one of the four quietest months of the year for accommodation. The price range for the month is in the budget block, city by city.
Does everything shut for New Year?
A good part of it does. Museums and restaurants often stay closed through January 3. After that the low season settles in and almost everything runs normally.
Going further
Calendar
How to book hotels in Japan: when sales open
The costly mistake is reading an empty calendar as a full one.
Calendar
Sumo tickets: six tournaments, six sale dates
Six 15-day tournaments a year. Three sit in Tokyo. Each has its own sale date, and the gap between that sale and the first bout runs from 29 to 57 days.
Calendar
The worst time to visit Japan, week by week
Three weeks carry almost all of the pressure, and one of them is not even a public holiday. The other 49 are far more open than the month-level lists suggest.
The next step
Which site to book on
Every site holds a different slice of Japan. See which site holds what.
Before you book: what a ryokan rate includes. It counts people rather than rooms, and dinner is nearly always part of it, served at a fixed time that you pick when you book rather than on the evening itself. Read the ryokan page.
Bookings for your dates open on a fixed date. We write that day.
Say you're after the cherry blossoms in April 2027: ryokan inns open around October. On the day, you get an email, you book, and it's done.
Temperature and rainfall: 1991-2020 normals from the Japan Meteorological Agency. Occupancy from Japan's official tourism statistics, public holidays from the official calendar. Tanuki Trip never books on your behalf. You book it yourself, wherever you want.