Kumano in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Kumano sees average daytime highs around 9°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 285 mm of precipitation over about 23 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.

Over the season highs ease from about 12°C in early December to 10°C by late February. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 42% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

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

Avg daytime high
9°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
2°C
Precipitation
285 mm
23 wet days
Avg wind
10 km/h
Travel score
1.8
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Kumano in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Over the season highs ease from about 12°C in early December to 10°C by late February.

A typical winter day in Kumano reaches about 9°C and drops to 2°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.

-5°10°15°20°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Kumano

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 71 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
71
wind chill below the day's low

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

Kumano 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 daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 927.22.2101.2
Feb / 1018.32.410.71.6
Mar12° / 172121.311.73.1
Apr17° / 185120.112.85.0
May21° / 13°21714.2013.75.7
Jun23° / 18°33518.6014.25.0
Jul27° / 22°30320.30144.6
Aug28° / 23°28420.1013.34.5
Sep25° / 20°34418.9012.25.3
Oct20° / 14°29914.1011.15.8
Nov15° / 1419.3010.24.9
Dec10° / 9370.89.82.5

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 42% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Kumano gets around 285 mm of rain and snow over 23 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 10 km/h across winter.

051015DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 54 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 3.2 kWh/m².

012345DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Kumano

In seasonPeak

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

Kumano 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 winter a good time to visit Kumano?

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.

1.8
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 Kumano.

What to pack for Kumano in Winter

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

In winter, Kumano sees daytime highs around 9°C and nights near 2°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 23 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

Sea temperature near Kumano in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 18°C across winter — 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 17°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from May 17 to Dec 4 — about 6.6 months when the water holds above 20°C.

15°20°25°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan17Cool
Feb17Cool
Mar17Cool
Apr18Cool
May20Cool
Jun22Refreshing
Jul25Warm
Aug27Warm
Sep26Warm
Oct24Refreshing
Nov22Refreshing
Dec19Cool

UV index in Kumano in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 3 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Kumano peaks around July 13 at about 10 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 11 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highExtremeVery highModerateJul 13UV 10Dec 22UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar6High
Apr7Very high
May9Very high
Jun10Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug10Very high
Sep10Very high
Oct6High
Nov4Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Air quality in Kumano 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 Kumano is worst in April — around 18 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.1× the cleanest month (September, 9 µg/m³).

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

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodApr 1317 µg/m³Sep 159 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan10Good
Feb13Moderate
Mar17Moderate
Apr18Moderate
May16Moderate
Jun13Moderate
Jul9Good
Aug9Good
Sep9Good
Oct9Good
Nov9Good
Dec9Good
Location & terrain

Where is Kumano?

Kumano sits at 33.9°N, 136.1°E, 138 m above sea level, in Japan. The nearest listed city is Owase, 19 km away.

Topography around Kumano

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kumano has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 675 m around an average of 143 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,134 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,878 m.

The land around Kumano is covered by trees (63%) and water (31%) within 3 km, trees (53%) and water (44%) within 16 km, and trees (60%) and water (37%) within 80 km.

3 km
675 m
16 km
1,134 m
80 km
1,878 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Winter weather nearby: Owase 19 km · Shingū 23 km · Kushimoto 58 km · Shimobuchi 62 km · Gojō 63 km · Ōuda-yamaguchi 64 km · Hashimoto 65 km · Kashiwara 69 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 Kumano (33.9039°, 136.1221°, elevation 138 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.