Okayama in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Okayama sees average daytime highs around 11°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 134 mm of precipitation over about 17 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 14°C in early December to 12°C by late February. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 30% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

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

Avg daytime high
11°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
2°C
Precipitation
134 mm
17 wet days
Avg wind
11 km/h
Travel score
3.0
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Okayama in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Over the season highs ease from about 14°C in early December to 12°C by late February.

A typical winter day in Okayama reaches about 11°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 Okayama

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 68 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
68
wind chill below the day's low

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

Okayama 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
Jan10° / 405.50.39.92.4
Feb11° / 486.40.610.72.8
Mar14° / 929.30.111.74.3
Apr20° / 10°1089.7012.86.2
May24° / 15°1259.9013.86.8
Jun27° / 20°17212.2014.35.8
Jul31° / 24°18713.6014.14.0
Aug33° / 25°10810.3013.33.6
Sep29° / 21°16810.8012.25.5
Oct23° / 14°1147.7011.17.2
Nov18° / 576.1010.26.2
Dec12° / 465.30.19.73.7

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 30% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Okayama gets around 134 mm of rain and snow over 17 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%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 11 km/h across winter.

051015DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 48 min in early December to 11 h 06 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 2.8 kWh/m².

01234DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Okayama

In seasonPeak

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

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

Okayama's rainy season runs March–October, 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 Okayama?

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.

3.0
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 Okayama.

What to pack for Okayama in Winter

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

In winter, Okayama sees daytime highs around 11°C and nights near 2°C. Pack a warm layer. About 17 days see rain.

a warm layer

Sea temperature near Okayama in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 14°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 41 km away) is warmest in August at about 27°C and coldest in February near 13°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jun 7 to Nov 12 — about 5.2 months when the water holds above 20°C.

10°15°20°25°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan14Bracing
Feb13Bracing
Mar13Bracing
Apr15Bracing
May17Cool
Jun21Refreshing
Jul25Warm
Aug27Warm
Sep26Warm
Oct24Refreshing
Nov20Cool
Dec16Cool

UV index in Okayama in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 3. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Okayama peaks around July 13 at about 10 (extreme) — 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highVery highModerateJul 13UV 10Dec 22UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar5High
Apr7Very high
May8Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul10Extreme
Aug9Very high
Sep9Very high
Oct6High
Nov4Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Air quality in Okayama 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 Okayama is worst in April — around 15 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.8× the cleanest month (October, 8 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Okayama's WHO annual average of 11 µg/m³.

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodApr 1415 µg/m³Oct 168 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan10Good
Feb12Good
Mar14Moderate
Apr15Moderate
May14Moderate
Jun12Moderate
Jul10Good
Aug10Good
Sep9Good
Oct8Good
Nov9Good
Dec9Good
Location & terrain

Where is Okayama?

Okayama sits at 34.6°N, 133.9°E, 5 m above sea level, in Japan. The nearest listed city is Tamano, 15 km away.

Topography around Okayama

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Okayama has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 171 m around an average of 13 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 503 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,811 m.

The land around Okayama is covered by artificial surfaces (79%) within 3 km, trees (41%) and artificial surfaces (26%) within 16 km, and trees (61%) and water (26%) within 80 km.

3 km
171 m
16 km
503 m
80 km
1,811 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Tamano 15 km · Sōja 17 km · Kurashiki 17 km · Setouchi 19 km · Akaiwa 20 km · Naoshima 22 km · Bizen 32 km · Takahashi 33 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 Okayama (34.65°, 133.9333°, elevation 5 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.