Shimo-furano in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Shimo-furano sees average daytime highs around -4°C and overnight lows near -12°C, with 219 mm of precipitation over about 45 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 -4°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 8% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

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

Avg daytime high
-4°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
-12°C
Precipitation
219 mm
45 wet days
Avg wind
9 km/h
Travel score
0.0
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Shimo-furano in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around -4°C.

A typical winter day in Shimo-furano reaches about -4°C and drops to -12°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.

-20°-10°10°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Shimo-furano

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 90 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
90
90 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

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

Shimo-furano 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-6° / -13°6814.919.49.20.0
Feb-4° / -12°581316.910.20.0
Mar / -8°831517.311.60.0
Apr / -1°8714.19.313.21.0
May14° / 96131.214.53.8
Jun18° / 11°8812.4015.25.3
Jul22° / 15°13915.2014.95.6
Aug22° / 16°17615.2013.85.7
Sep19° / 11°14314.2012.35.1
Oct12° / 117151.710.82.8
Nov / -4°11117.9149.50.2
Dec-3° / -11°9316.921.18.80.0

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 8% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Shimo-furano gets around 219 mm of rain and snow over 45 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 9 km/h across winter.

051015DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 hours in early December to 10 h 48 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 2.3 kWh/m².

01234DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Shimo-furano?

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.

0.0
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 Shimo-furano.

What to pack for Shimo-furano in Winter

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

In winter, Shimo-furano sees daytime highs around -4°C and nights near -12°C. Pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear. About 45 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Shimo-furano 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 Shimo-furano peaks around August 17 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 20 at about 1 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighVery highHighModerateLowAug 17UV 8Dec 20UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar3Moderate
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun7Very high
Jul6High
Aug9Very high
Sep6High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Shimo-furano 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 Shimo-furano is worst in April — around 17 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.3× the cleanest month (December, 7 µg/m³).

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

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodApr 1517 µg/m³Dec 178 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan8Good
Feb11Good
Mar16Moderate
Apr17Moderate
May15Moderate
Jun11Good
Jul11Good
Aug9Good
Sep8Good
Oct9Good
Nov9Good
Dec7Good
Location & terrain

Where is Shimo-furano?

Shimo-furano sits at 43.4°N, 142.4°E, 170 m above sea level, in Japan. The nearest listed city is Furano, 0.0 km away.

Topography around Shimo-furano

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Shimo-furano has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 292 m around an average of 195 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,587 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,253 m.

The land around Shimo-furano is covered by cropland (38%) and trees (31%) within 3 km, trees (72%) and cropland (21%) within 16 km, and trees (76%) within 80 km.

3 km
292 m
16 km
1,587 m
80 km
2,253 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Winter weather nearby: Furano 0.0 km · Ashibetsu 24 km · Sunagawa 41 km · Bibai 43 km · Takikawa 45 km · Asahikawa 47 km · Fukagawa 49 km · Iwamizawa 53 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 Shimo-furano (43.35°, 142.3833°, elevation 170 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.