Ryōtsu-minato in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Ryōtsu-minato sees average daytime highs around 7°C and overnight lows near 3°C, with 376 mm of precipitation over about 61 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 3rd-wettest season.

Over the season highs ease from about 10°C in early December to 7°C by late February. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 7% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

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

Avg daytime high
7°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
3°C
Precipitation
376 mm
61 wet days
Avg wind
20 km/h
Travel score
0.5
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Ryōtsu-minato in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Over the season highs ease from about 10°C in early December to 7°C by late February.

A typical winter day in Ryōtsu-minato reaches about 7°C and drops to 3°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest February.

-5°10°15°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Ryōtsu-minato

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.

Ryōtsu-minato 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 / 13221.49.89.70.2
Feb / 9117.68.210.50.3
Mar / 10116.23.311.71.4
Apr13° / 8912.20.2133.5
May18° / 13°92110145.8
Jun22° / 18°12410.5014.66.4
Jul26° / 22°20514.3014.45.8
Aug28° / 24°14612.1013.55.6
Sep25° / 21°14212.5012.36.2
Oct19° / 15°13613.20115.7
Nov14° / 10°13717.30.19.93.3
Dec / 15421.64.89.41.1

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 7% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Ryōtsu-minato gets around 376 mm of rain and snow over 61 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%80%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 20 km/h across winter.

0510152025DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 30 min in early December to 11 hours 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 2.2 kWh/m².

01234DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Ryōtsu-minato

In seasonPeak

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

Ryōtsu-minato 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 Ryōtsu-minato?

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.

0.5
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 Ryōtsu-minato.

What to pack for Ryōtsu-minato in Winter

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

In winter, Ryōtsu-minato sees daytime highs around 7°C and nights near 3°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat and a windbreaker. About 61 days see rain.

a warm layerrain geara heavy coata windbreaker

Sea temperature near Ryōtsu-minato in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 13°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 26°C and coldest in March near 10°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jun 24 to Oct 29 — about 4.2 months when the water holds above 20°C.

10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan12Bracing
Feb10Bracing
Mar10Bracing
Apr11Bracing
May14Bracing
Jun19Cool
Jul23Refreshing
Aug26Warm
Sep25Warm
Oct22Refreshing
Nov18Cool
Dec15Cool

UV index in Ryōtsu-minato in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Ryōtsu-minato peaks around August 14 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 23 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highModerateAug 14UV 9Dec 23UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug10Very high
Sep8Very high
Oct5Moderate
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Low

Air quality in Ryōtsu-minato 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 Ryōtsu-minato is worst in April — around 20 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.2× the cleanest month (October, 9 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodApr 1220 µg/m³Oct 129 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan11Good
Feb14Moderate
Mar20Moderate
Apr20Moderate
May18Moderate
Jun14Moderate
Jul12Moderate
Aug10Good
Sep9Good
Oct9Good
Nov10Good
Dec9Good
Location & terrain

Where is Ryōtsu-minato?

Ryōtsu-minato sits at 38.1°N, 138.4°E, 4 m above sea level, in Japan. The nearest listed city is Sado, 9.0 km away.

Topography around Ryōtsu-minato

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Ryōtsu-minato has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 102 m around an average of 11 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,155 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,125 m.

The land around Ryōtsu-minato is covered by water (50%) and trees (23%) within 3 km, trees (55%) and water (34%) within 16 km, and water (78%) within 80 km.

3 km
102 m
16 km
1,155 m
80 km
1,125 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Winter weather nearby: Sado 9.0 km · Maki 53 km · Niigata 55 km · Yoshida-kasugachō 59 km · Shirone 62 km · Tsubame 63 km · Kameda-honchō 63 km · Niitsu-honchō 67 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 Ryōtsu-minato (38.0782°, 138.4394°, elevation 4 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.