January 9° · ☂ 6 February 10° · ☂ 8 March 15° · ☂ 10 April 20° · ☂ 9 ★ May25° · ☂ 9 June 29° · ☂ 11 July 33° · ☂ 13 August 34° · ☂ 9 September 30° · ☂ 10 ★ October24° · ☂ 9 November 18° · ☂ 6 December 12° · ☂ 7 Kyoto in January:cold, occasional rain Kyoto, Japan · Records from 2006 to 2025. Not a forecast.
Mean high 9° Hottest day 17.3° (2021)
Mean low 2° Coldest night −8.9° (2023)
Rain days 6 days 2-11 by year
Rainfall 49mm Daylight 9.8 → 10.5 h
Kyoto's 12 months i Best: May and October
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Trip types Sightseeing on foot Finecold
Humidity 73% 0 muggy days
Clear days 4 days 5 overcast days
Mean wind 9 km/h Rarely windy
Sunrise / sunset (15th) 07:04 / 17:07 Daylight 9.8 → 10.5 h
Kyoto in January Some shops close for the first three days of the year, and temples and shrines fill with hatsumode visitors. Mornings and evenings are cold in the basin. A temple under snow depends on luck with the weather.
January was properly cold: 9°C by day and 2°C at night. Out of 31 days, about 6 brought rain; the rest stayed dry. The driest year, 2025, had 2 rain days; the wettest, 2009, had 11.
With as little as 9.8 hours of daylight, the sightseeing day was short and dinner came after dark. Frost touched 8 nights of the month on average, enough to glaze puddles and shaded steps at first light. Not every year was typical: 2020 ran 2.5°C warmer than the mean, with highs of 11.6°C. The lowest night on record was −8.9°C in 2023.
Typhoons i Typhoons: June to October
Date by date i Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Week
January 1 Friday 1 rain in 2 of 20 yrs 2/20 9° 1° January 2 Saturday 2 rain in 1 of 20 yrs 1/20 9° 1° 1-2 rain on 8% of days 9° 1°
January 3 Sunday 3 rain in 2 of 20 yrs 2/20 9° 2° January 4 Monday 4 rain in 1 of 20 yrs 1/20 10° 2° January 5 Tuesday 5 rain in 3 of 20 yrs 3/20 9° 2° January 6 Wednesday 6 rain in 6 of 20 yrs 6/20 9° 2° January 7 Thursday 7 rain in 3 of 20 yrs 3/20 9° 2° January 8 Friday 8 rain in 5 of 20 yrs 5/20 9° 2° January 9 Saturday 9 rain in 5 of 20 yrs 5/20 10° 2° 3-9 rain on 18% of days 9° 2°
January 10 Sunday 10 rain in 2 of 20 yrs 2/20 9° 1° January 11 Monday 11 rain in 2 of 20 yrs 2/20 9° 1° January 12 Tuesday 12 rain in 3 of 20 yrs 3/20 9° 1° January 13 Wednesday 13 rain in 4 of 20 yrs 4/20 9° 1° January 14 Thursday 14 rain in 5 of 20 yrs 5/20 9° 1° January 15 Friday 15 rain in 5 of 20 yrs 5/20 9° 1° January 16 Saturday 16 rain in 4 of 20 yrs 4/20 9° 2° 10-16 rain on 18% of days 9° 1°
January 17 Sunday 17 rain in 4 of 20 yrs 4/20 9° 2° January 18 Monday 18 rain in 3 of 20 yrs 3/20 9° 2° January 19 Tuesday 19 rain in 2 of 20 yrs 2/20 9° 2° January 20 Wednesday 20 rain in 6 of 20 yrs 6/20 10° 2° January 21 Thursday 21 rain in 6 of 20 yrs 6/20 9° 2° January 22 Friday 22 rain in 8 of 20 yrs 8/20 9° 3° January 23 Saturday 23 rain in 8 of 20 yrs 8/20 9° 2° 17-23 rain on 26% of days 9° 2°
January 24 Sunday 24 rain in 2 of 20 yrs 2/20 8° 1° January 25 Monday 25 rain in 3 of 20 yrs 3/20 8° 0° January 26 Tuesday 26 rain in 4 of 20 yrs 4/20 9° 0° January 27 Wednesday 27 rain in 4 of 20 yrs 4/20 9° 1° January 28 Thursday 28 rain in 5 of 20 yrs 5/20 9° 1° January 29 Friday 29 rain in 4 of 20 yrs 4/20 10° 1° January 30 Saturday 30 rain in 6 of 20 yrs 6/20 9° 2° 24-30 rain on 20% of days 9° 1°
January 31 Sunday 31 rain in 4 of 20 yrs 4/20 9° 2°
January 31 rain on 20% of days 9° 2°
1-2 rain on 8% of days 9° 1° 3-9 rain on 18% of days 9° 2° 10-16 rain on 18% of days 9° 1° 17-23 rain on 26% of days 9° 2° 24-30 rain on 20% of days 9° 1° January 31 rain on 20% of days 9° 2°
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Week
January 1 Saturday 1 rain in 2 of 20 yrs 2/20 9° 1° January 1 rain on 10% of days 9° 1°
January 2 Sunday 2 rain in 1 of 20 yrs 1/20 9° 1° January 3 Monday 3 rain in 2 of 20 yrs 2/20 9° 2° January 4 Tuesday 4 rain in 1 of 20 yrs 1/20 10° 2° January 5 Wednesday 5 rain in 3 of 20 yrs 3/20 9° 2° January 6 Thursday 6 rain in 6 of 20 yrs 6/20 9° 2° January 7 Friday 7 rain in 3 of 20 yrs 3/20 9° 2° January 8 Saturday 8 rain in 5 of 20 yrs 5/20 9° 2° 2-8 rain on 15% of days 9° 2°
January 9 Sunday 9 rain in 5 of 20 yrs 5/20 10° 2° January 10 Monday 10 rain in 2 of 20 yrs 2/20 9° 1° January 11 Tuesday 11 rain in 2 of 20 yrs 2/20 9° 1° January 12 Wednesday 12 rain in 3 of 20 yrs 3/20 9° 1° January 13 Thursday 13 rain in 4 of 20 yrs 4/20 9° 1° January 14 Friday 14 rain in 5 of 20 yrs 5/20 9° 1° January 15 Saturday 15 rain in 5 of 20 yrs 5/20 9° 1° 9-15 rain on 19% of days 9° 1°
January 16 Sunday 16 rain in 4 of 20 yrs 4/20 9° 2° January 17 Monday 17 rain in 4 of 20 yrs 4/20 9° 2° January 18 Tuesday 18 rain in 3 of 20 yrs 3/20 9° 2° January 19 Wednesday 19 rain in 2 of 20 yrs 2/20 9° 2° January 20 Thursday 20 rain in 6 of 20 yrs 6/20 10° 2° January 21 Friday 21 rain in 6 of 20 yrs 6/20 9° 2° January 22 Saturday 22 rain in 8 of 20 yrs 8/20 9° 3° 16-22 rain on 24% of days 9° 2°
January 23 Sunday 23 rain in 8 of 20 yrs 8/20 9° 2° January 24 Monday 24 rain in 2 of 20 yrs 2/20 8° 1° January 25 Tuesday 25 rain in 3 of 20 yrs 3/20 8° 0° January 26 Wednesday 26 rain in 4 of 20 yrs 4/20 9° 0° January 27 Thursday 27 rain in 4 of 20 yrs 4/20 9° 1° January 28 Friday 28 rain in 5 of 20 yrs 5/20 9° 1° January 29 Saturday 29 rain in 4 of 20 yrs 4/20 10° 1° 23-29 rain on 21% of days 9° 1°
January 30 Sunday 30 rain in 6 of 20 yrs 6/20 9° 2° January 31 Monday 31 rain in 4 of 20 yrs 4/20 9° 2°
30-31 rain on 25% of days 9° 2°
January 1 rain on 10% of days 9° 1° 2-8 rain on 15% of days 9° 2° 9-15 rain on 19% of days 9° 1° 16-22 rain on 24% of days 9° 2° 23-29 rain on 21% of days 9° 1° 30-31 rain on 25% of days 9° 2°
Tap another date to change
2006 none
2007 1mm
2008 none
2009 12mm
2010 none
2011 none
2012 none
2013 10mm
2014 none
2015 29mm
2016 none
2017 2mm
2018 9mm
2019 none
2020 1mm
2021 12mm
2022 none
2023 none
2024 none
2025 none
Holidays in January (2027) December 29 to January 3 Year-end and New Year holidaysJanuary 1 New Year's DayJanuary 11 Coming of Age DayJanuary 18 Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. 1 Local public holiday or break (busier, pricier)1 US holidays (flights fill up)
Holidays in January (2028) December 29 to January 3 Year-end and New Year holidays 1 Local public holiday or break (busier, pricier)
Day by day temperature i −1° 6° 12° 19° 1 8 15 22 29 31
Your trip dates, the past 20 years Trip dates January 1 (Fri) 2 (Sat) 3 (Sun) 4 (Mon) 5 (Tue) 6 (Wed) 7 (Thu) 8 (Fri) 9 (Sat) 10 (Sun) 11 (Mon) 12 (Tue) 13 (Wed) 14 (Thu) 15 (Fri) 16 (Sat) 17 (Sun) 18 (Mon) 19 (Tue) 20 (Wed) 21 (Thu) 22 (Fri) 23 (Sat) 24 (Sun) 25 (Mon) 26 (Tue) 27 (Wed) 28 (Thu) 29 (Fri) 30 (Sat) 31 (Sun) ~ January 1 (Fri) 2 (Sat) 3 (Sun) 4 (Mon) 5 (Tue) 6 (Wed) 7 (Thu) 8 (Fri) 9 (Sat) 10 (Sun) 11 (Mon) 12 (Tue) 13 (Wed) 14 (Thu) 15 (Fri) 16 (Sat) 17 (Sun) 18 (Mon) 19 (Tue) 20 (Wed) 21 (Thu) 22 (Fri) 23 (Sat) 24 (Sun) 25 (Mon) 26 (Tue) 27 (Wed) 28 (Thu) 29 (Fri) 30 (Sat) 31 (Sun) 1-7 8-14 15-21 22-end Whole month
You can also click two dates on the axis. Hover a cell to see that day's rain. By year Driest trips first
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Trip rain days Month rain days Tap a date to start, tap another to end. Each cell is that date in one year. '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18 '19 '20 '21 '22 '23 '24 '25
of 20 Dates outside your trip are dimmed.
One row per year, one cell per day. 2025 had 2 rain days, 2009 had 11.
Common questions Does it rain a lot in Kyoto in January? Over the past 20 years January averaged 6 rain days (1 mm or more) out of 31. Individual years ran from 2 in the driest to 11 in the wettest.
What should I wear in Kyoto in January? Days averaged 9°C and nights 2°C. Pack a compact umbrella and a warm coat.
Is January a good time to visit Kyoto? On warmth and rain days alone, Kyoto's easiest months were May and October. January ranked 8 of 12.
How many clear days does Kyoto get in January? About 4 clear days (under 30% cloud on average) and 5 overcast days (80% or more).
Previous month Kyoto in December Next month Kyoto in February Whole year Kyoto weather by month Where to go January By country Japan: all cities this month