Kobe weather in January

In January, Kobe sees average daytime highs of 9°C and overnight lows near 3°C, with 55 mm of precipitation across 6.2 wet days and about 9.9 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 12th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 9°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 31% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 h 42 min at the start of January to 10 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Kobe's 4th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Kobe's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 9°; 12th warmest
Overnight low: 3°; 2nd coldest
Precipitation: 55 mm; 6.2 wet days
Daylight: 9 h 54 min; 7:11 AM – 5:06 PM
Cloud cover: 56%; 4th clearest
Wind: 10 km/h; 2nd windiest
Solar energy: 2.68 kWh/m²
Travel score: 1.8; out of 10

Kobe is capital city of Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.

Air quality: Moderate; PM2.5 11 µg/m³ · 2010
Founded: 1889

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← December Kobe year-round climate February →Best places to visit in January

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 9°C through the month.

A typical January day in Kobe reaches about 9°C in the afternoon and slips back to 3°C overnight — a 6°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 6°C and 12°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 3°C cooler than December and on par with February.

	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
Avg high (°C)	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8
Avg low (°C)	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	9	4
2	9	4
3	9	4
4	9	4
5	9	3
6	9	3
7	9	3
8	9	3
9	9	3
10	9	3
11	9	3
12	9	3
13	9	3
14	9	3
15	9	3
16	9	3
17	9	3
18	9	3
19	8	3
20	8	3
21	8	3
22	8	3
23	8	3
24	8	3
25	8	3
26	8	3
27	8	3
28	8	2
29	8	2
30	8	2
31	8	2

How January really feels in Kobe

Once humidity and wind are folded in, January averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 15 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

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

Kobe weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 12th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	9° / 3°	55	6.2	0.4	9.9	1.8
Feb	9° / 3°	65	7	0.8	10.7	2.1
Mar	13° / 6°	111	10.4	0.1	11.7	3.6
Apr	18° / 11°	124	10.5	0	12.8	5.7
May	23° / 16°	150	10.7	0	13.8	6.6
Jun	26° / 20°	196	13.5	0	14.3	5.7
Jul	30° / 24°	203	15.3	0	14.1	4.3
Aug	31° / 25°	131	13.6	0	13.3	4.0
Sep	28° / 22°	191	12.8	0	12.2	5.6
Oct	22° / 16°	159	9.6	0	11.1	6.9
Nov	17° / 10°	86	7.4	0	10.2	5.7
Dec	11° / 5°	66	6.7	0	9.7	3.2

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 31% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 29% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 41%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

	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
Clearer (%)	67	67	67	67	67	66	65	65	64	63	62	61	60	59	58	57	57	56	55	55	55	54	54	54	55	54	55	55	56	56	56
Cloudier (%)	33	33	33	33	33	34	35	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	43	44	45	45	45	46	46	46	45	46	45	45	44	44	44

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	67	33
2	67	33
3	67	33
4	67	33
5	67	33
6	66	34
7	65	35
8	65	35
9	64	36
10	63	37
11	62	38
12	61	39
13	60	40
14	59	41
15	58	42
16	57	43
17	57	43
18	56	44
19	55	45
20	55	45
21	55	45
22	54	46
23	54	46
24	54	46
25	55	45
26	54	46
27	55	45
28	55	45
29	56	44
30	56	44
31	56	44

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Kobe gets around 55 mm of rain and snow over 6.2 wet days in January, the driest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 20% and peaks near 23% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

	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
Rain chance (%)	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	19	19	20	20	21	21	22	22	22	22	23	23	23	23	22	22	22	22	21	21	21	21
Snow chance (%)	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	18	1
2	18	1
3	18	1
4	18	1
5	18	1
6	18	1
7	18	1
8	18	1
9	18	1
10	19	1
11	19	1
12	20	1
13	20	1
14	21	1
15	21	1
16	22	1
17	22	1
18	22	2
19	22	2
20	23	2
21	23	2
22	23	2
23	23	2
24	22	2
25	22	2
26	22	2
27	22	2
28	21	2
29	21	3
30	21	3
31	21	3

Humidity in January

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, January lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	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
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

Wind in January

Winds average 10 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 10 km/h on the calmest days to 11 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	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
Wind speed (km/h)	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	11	10	10	10
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	10	calm
2	10	calm
3	10	calm
4	10	calm
5	10	calm
6	10	calm
7	10	calm
8	10	calm
9	10	calm
10	10	calm
11	10	calm
12	10	calm
13	10	calm
14	10	calm
15	10	calm
16	10	calm
17	10	calm
18	10	calm
19	10	calm
20	10	calm
21	10	calm
22	10	calm
23	10	calm
24	11	calm
25	11	calm
26	11	calm
27	11	calm
28	11	calm
29	10	calm
30	10	calm
31	10	calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 42 min at the start of January to 10 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 36 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 7:11 AM to 7:05 AM, and sunset from 4:54 PM to 5:20 PM.

	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
Daylight (h)	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.3
Sunrise (AM)	7:11	7:11	7:11	7:12	7:12	7:12	7:12	7:12	7:12	7:12	7:12	7:12	7:12	7:12	7:11	7:11	7:11	7:11	7:10	7:10	7:10	7:09	7:09	7:09	7:08	7:08	7:07	7:07	7:06	7:06	7:05
Sunset (PM)	4:54	4:54	4:55	4:56	4:57	4:57	4:58	4:59	5:00	5:01	5:02	5:02	5:03	5:04	5:05	5:06	5:07	5:08	5:09	5:10	5:11	5:12	5:12	5:13	5:14	5:15	5:16	5:17	5:18	5:19	5:20

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	9.7	7:11	4:54
2	9.7	7:11	4:54
3	9.7	7:11	4:55
4	9.7	7:12	4:56
5	9.7	7:12	4:57
6	9.8	7:12	4:57
7	9.8	7:12	4:58
8	9.8	7:12	4:59
9	9.8	7:12	5:00
10	9.8	7:12	5:01
11	9.8	7:12	5:02
12	9.8	7:12	5:02
13	9.9	7:12	5:03
14	9.9	7:12	5:04
15	9.9	7:11	5:05
16	9.9	7:11	5:06
17	9.9	7:11	5:07
18	10.0	7:11	5:08
19	10.0	7:10	5:09
20	10.0	7:10	5:10
21	10.0	7:10	5:11
22	10.0	7:09	5:12
23	10.1	7:09	5:12
24	10.1	7:09	5:13
25	10.1	7:08	5:14
26	10.1	7:08	5:15
27	10.2	7:07	5:16
28	10.2	7:07	5:17
29	10.2	7:06	5:18
30	10.2	7:06	5:19
31	10.3	7:05	5:20

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 2.68 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.38 kWh/m² to a high of 5.52 kWh/m² in May across the year — January's 2.68 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

	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
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.6	2.6	2.6	2.6	2.6	2.6	2.6	2.6	2.6	2.6	2.6	2.6	2.6	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.9	2.9	2.9	3.0	3.0
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	2.5	Moderate
2	2.5	Moderate
3	2.5	Moderate
4	2.5	Moderate
5	2.5	Moderate
6	2.6	Moderate
7	2.6	Moderate
8	2.6	Moderate
9	2.6	Moderate
10	2.6	Moderate
11	2.6	Moderate
12	2.6	Moderate
13	2.6	Moderate
14	2.6	Moderate
15	2.6	Moderate
16	2.6	Moderate
17	2.6	Moderate
18	2.6	Moderate
19	2.7	Moderate
20	2.7	Moderate
21	2.7	Moderate
22	2.7	Moderate
23	2.8	Moderate
24	2.8	Moderate
25	2.8	Moderate
26	2.8	Moderate
27	2.9	Moderate
28	2.9	Moderate
29	2.9	Moderate
30	3.0	Moderate
31	3.0	Moderate

Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Kobe

In seasonPeak

In January, Kobe sits inside its pacific typhoon season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

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

Pacific typhoon

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is January a good time to visit Kobe?

Our two travel scores rate January for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

1.8

Sightseeing

12th-best month of the year

0.0

Beach & pool

11th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Kobe.

What to pack for Kobe in January

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

In January, Kobe sees daytime highs around 9°C and nights near 3°C. Pack a warm layer. About 6 days see rain.

a warm layer

Sea temperature near Kobe in January

The nearest coast averages about 14°C in January — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 27°C and coldest in February near 13°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jun 6 to Nov 12 — about 5.3 months when the water holds above 20°C.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sea temperature (°C)	14	13	14	15	18	21	25	27	26	23	20	17
Comfort	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Cool	Cool	Refreshing	Warm	Warm	Warm	Refreshing	Cool	Cool

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	14	Bracing
Feb	13	Bracing
Mar	14	Bracing
Apr	15	Cool
May	18	Cool
Jun	21	Refreshing
Jul	25	Warm
Aug	27	Warm
Sep	26	Warm
Oct	23	Refreshing
Nov	20	Cool
Dec	17	Cool

UV index in Kobe in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 3. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Kobe peaks around July 10 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 2 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	3	4	5	7	8	10	10	8	9	6	4	2
Level	Moderate	Moderate	High	High	Very high	Very high	Very high	Very high	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	3	Moderate
Feb	4	Moderate
Mar	5	High
Apr	7	High
May	8	Very high
Jun	10	Very high
Jul	10	Very high
Aug	8	Very high
Sep	9	Very high
Oct	6	High
Nov	4	Moderate
Dec	2	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Kobe?

Kobe sits at 34.7°N, 135.2°E, 35 m above sea level, in Japan. The nearest listed city is Ashiya, 12 km away.

Topography around Kobe

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kobe has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 487 m around an average of 91 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 930 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,345 m.

The land around Kobe is covered by artificial surfaces (50%) and trees (34%) within 3 km, water (39%), trees (34%) and artificial surfaces (23%) within 16 km, and trees (55%) and water (25%) within 80 km.

3 km

487 m

artificial surfaces 50%

16 km

930 m

water 39%

80 km

1,345 m

trees 55%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

← December Kobe year-round climate February →Best places to visit in January

January weather nearby: Ashiya 12 km · Nishinomiya 14 km · Akashi 17 km · Takarazuka 20 km · Amagasaki 22 km · Sandachō 22 km · Miki 22 km · Itami 22 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

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 Kobe (34.6913°, 135.183°, elevation 35 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. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	9	4
2	9	4
3	9	4
4	9	4
5	9	3
6	9	3
7	9	3
8	9	3
9	9	3
10	9	3
11	9	3
12	9	3
13	9	3
14	9	3
15	9	3
16	9	3
17	9	3
18	9	3
19	8	3
20	8	3
21	8	3
22	8	3
23	8	3
24	8	3
25	8	3
26	8	3
27	8	3
28	8	2
29	8	2
30	8	2
31	8	2

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	67	33
2	67	33
3	67	33
4	67	33
5	67	33
6	66	34
7	65	35
8	65	35
9	64	36
10	63	37
11	62	38
12	61	39
13	60	40
14	59	41
15	58	42
16	57	43
17	57	43
18	56	44
19	55	45
20	55	45
21	55	45
22	54	46
23	54	46
24	54	46
25	55	45
26	54	46
27	55	45
28	55	45
29	56	44
30	56	44
31	56	44

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	18	1
2	18	1
3	18	1
4	18	1
5	18	1
6	18	1
7	18	1
8	18	1
9	18	1
10	19	1
11	19	1
12	20	1
13	20	1
14	21	1
15	21	1
16	22	1
17	22	1
18	22	2
19	22	2
20	23	2
21	23	2
22	23	2
23	23	2
24	22	2
25	22	2
26	22	2
27	22	2
28	21	2
29	21	3
30	21	3
31	21	3

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	9	4
2	9	4
3	9	4
4	9	4
5	9	3
6	9	3
7	9	3
8	9	3
9	9	3
10	9	3
11	9	3
12	9	3
13	9	3
14	9	3
15	9	3
16	9	3
17	9	3
18	9	3
19	8	3
20	8	3
21	8	3
22	8	3
23	8	3
24	8	3
25	8	3
26	8	3
27	8	3
28	8	2
29	8	2
30	8	2
31	8	2

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	67	33
2	67	33
3	67	33
4	67	33
5	67	33
6	66	34
7	65	35
8	65	35
9	64	36
10	63	37
11	62	38
12	61	39
13	60	40
14	59	41
15	58	42
16	57	43
17	57	43
18	56	44
19	55	45
20	55	45
21	55	45
22	54	46
23	54	46
24	54	46
25	55	45
26	54	46
27	55	45
28	55	45
29	56	44
30	56	44
31	56	44

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	18	1
2	18	1
3	18	1
4	18	1
5	18	1
6	18	1
7	18	1
8	18	1
9	18	1
10	19	1
11	19	1
12	20	1
13	20	1
14	21	1
15	21	1
16	22	1
17	22	1
18	22	2
19	22	2
20	23	2
21	23	2
22	23	2
23	23	2
24	22	2
25	22	2
26	22	2
27	22	2
28	21	2
29	21	3
30	21	3
31	21	3

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	9	4
2	9	4
3	9	4
4	9	4
5	9	3
6	9	3
7	9	3
8	9	3
9	9	3
10	9	3
11	9	3
12	9	3
13	9	3
14	9	3
15	9	3
16	9	3
17	9	3
18	9	3
19	8	3
20	8	3
21	8	3
22	8	3
23	8	3
24	8	3
25	8	3
26	8	3
27	8	3
28	8	2
29	8	2
30	8	2
31	8	2

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	67	33
2	67	33
3	67	33
4	67	33
5	67	33
6	66	34
7	65	35
8	65	35
9	64	36
10	63	37
11	62	38
12	61	39
13	60	40
14	59	41
15	58	42
16	57	43
17	57	43
18	56	44
19	55	45
20	55	45
21	55	45
22	54	46
23	54	46
24	54	46
25	55	45
26	54	46
27	55	45
28	55	45
29	56	44
30	56	44
31	56	44

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	18	1
2	18	1
3	18	1
4	18	1
5	18	1
6	18	1
7	18	1
8	18	1
9	18	1
10	19	1
11	19	1
12	20	1
13	20	1
14	21	1
15	21	1
16	22	1
17	22	1
18	22	2
19	22	2
20	23	2
21	23	2
22	23	2
23	23	2
24	22	2
25	22	2
26	22	2
27	22	2
28	21	2
29	21	3
30	21	3
31	21	3

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100