Kirishima in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Kirishima sees average daytime highs around 12°C and overnight lows near 3°C, with 263 mm of precipitation over about 24 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 12°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 33% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Kirishima's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Kirishima's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
12°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
3°C
Precipitation
263 mm
24 wet days
Avg wind
9 km/h
Travel score
3.4
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Kirishima in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 12°C.

A typical winter day in Kirishima reaches about 12°C and drops to 3°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.

-5°10°15°20°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Kirishima

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 24 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
24
wind chill below the day's low

The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Kirishima weather by month

How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan11° / 808.310.22.8
Feb12° / 102910.83.3
Mar16° / 15712.911.84.6
Apr20° / 11°18111.812.85.9
May24° / 15°20511.713.66.4
Jun26° / 20°48819.9144.8
Jul30° / 24°29919.413.93.9
Aug31° / 24°17418.313.23.8
Sep28° / 21°2021512.25.2
Oct24° / 15°114911.27.1
Nov18° / 1078.210.46.2
Dec13° / 817.1104.0

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 33% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Kirishima gets around 263 mm of rain and snow over 24 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%50%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 9 km/h across winter.

051015DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 06 min in early December to 11 h 12 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.9 kWh/m².

01234DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Kirishima

In seasonPeak

In winter, Kirishima overlaps its pacific typhoon season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Kirishima sits in the Pacific typhoon belt; the season peaks July–October.

Kirishima's rainy season runs June–July, when most of the year's rain falls.

Pacific typhoon
Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is winter a good time to visit Kirishima?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

3.4
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Kirishima.

What to pack for Kirishima in Winter

From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In winter, Kirishima sees daytime highs around 12°C and nights near 3°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear. About 24 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Kirishima in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 19°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 43 km away) is warmest in August at about 28°C and coldest in February near 18°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Apr 24 to Dec 26 — about 8.1 months when the water holds above 20°C.

15°20°25°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan19Cool
Feb18Cool
Mar18Cool
Apr20Cool
May21Refreshing
Jun24Refreshing
Jul27Warm
Aug28Tropical
Sep27Warm
Oct25Warm
Nov23Refreshing
Dec21Refreshing

UV index in Kirishima in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 4 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Kirishima peaks around June 23 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 23 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highExtremeVery highHighModerateJun 23UV 11Dec 23UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb5Moderate
Mar7High
Apr8Very high
May8Very high
Jun11Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug9Very high
Sep10Very high
Oct6High
Nov5Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Air quality in Kirishima in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Kirishima is worst in April — around 23 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.9× the cleanest month (October, 12 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateApr 1423 µg/m³Oct 1012 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan15Moderate
Feb19Moderate
Mar22Moderate
Apr23Moderate
May21Moderate
Jun17Moderate
Jul12Moderate
Aug14Moderate
Sep12Moderate
Oct12Moderate
Nov14Moderate
Dec13Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Kirishima?

Kirishima sits at 31.7°N, 130.8°E, 10 m above sea level, in Japan. The nearest listed city is Kokubu-matsuki, 1.0 km away.

Topography around Kirishima

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Kirishima.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kirishima has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 219 m around an average of 29 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 603 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,680 m.

The land around Kirishima is covered by artificial surfaces (50%) and trees (27%) within 3 km, trees (61%) and water (25%) within 16 km, and trees (55%) and water (36%) within 80 km.

3 km
219 m
16 km
603 m
80 km
1,680 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Winter weather nearby: Kokubu-matsuki 1.0 km · Hamanoichi 4.0 km · Kajiki 9.0 km · Aira 17 km · Soo 24 km · Sueyoshichō-ninokata 26 km · Kagoshima 28 km · Miyakonojō 29 km

Japan travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type A / B
100 V · 50 / 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 65% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$35,951
2025
Happiness
6.1 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
99%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.2
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
3.6
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Very low
EF EPI 446
Religion
Shintoism 49%Buddhism 46%other 4%Christianity 1%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Kirishima (31.7409°, 130.7629°, elevation 10 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google.