Soo in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Soo sees average daytime highs around 12°C and overnight lows near 3°C, with 263 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.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 12°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 40% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

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

Avg daytime high
12°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
3°C
Precipitation
263 mm
23 wet days
Avg wind
8 km/h
Travel score
3.5
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Soo in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 12°C.

A typical winter day in Soo reaches about 12°C and drops to 3°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.

-5°10°15°20°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Soo

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 51 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
51
wind chill below the day's low

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

Soo 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 daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan11° / 817.710.22.9
Feb12° / 1008.510.83.4
Mar16° / 15912.811.84.6
Apr20° / 10°1821212.85.9
May24° / 15°20712.313.66.3
Jun26° / 19°46020.7144.7
Jul30° / 23°28020.213.93.8
Aug30° / 24°19919.813.23.7
Sep28° / 21°23316.412.25.1
Oct24° / 15°13710.311.26.9
Nov18° / 1088.610.46.1
Dec13° / 816.6104.1

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 40% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Soo gets around 263 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 8 km/h across winter.

051015DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 06 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 3.0 kWh/m².

01234DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Soo

In seasonPeak

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

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

Soo's rainy season runs May–July, 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 Soo?

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.

3.5
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 Soo.

What to pack for Soo in Winter

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

In winter, Soo sees daytime highs around 12°C and nights near 3°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear. About 23 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Soo in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 20°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 33 km away) is warmest in August at about 28°C and coldest in February near 18°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Apr 14 to Jan 4 — about 8.7 months when the water holds above 20°C.

20°25°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan19Cool
Feb18Cool
Mar19Cool
Apr20Refreshing
May22Refreshing
Jun24Refreshing
Jul27Warm
Aug28Tropical
Sep27Warm
Oct26Warm
Nov23Refreshing
Dec21Refreshing

UV index in Soo in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 4 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Soo peaks around June 23 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 23 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highExtremeVery highHighModerateJun 23UV 11Dec 23UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb5Moderate
Mar7High
Apr8Very high
May8Very high
Jun11Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug9Very high
Sep10Very high
Oct6High
Nov5Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Air quality in Soo 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 Soo is worst in April — around 22 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.9× the cleanest month (July, 11 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateGoodGoodModerateApr 1421 µg/m³Sep 1911 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan15Moderate
Feb18Moderate
Mar21Moderate
Apr22Moderate
May20Moderate
Jun16Moderate
Jul11Good
Aug12Moderate
Sep11Good
Oct12Good
Nov13Moderate
Dec12Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Soo?

Soo sits at 31.6°N, 131.0°E, 217 m above sea level, in Japan. The nearest listed city is Sueyoshichō-ninokata, 2.0 km away.

Topography around Soo

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Soo has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 165 m around an average of 205 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 913 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,640 m.

The land around Soo is covered by trees (63%) and cropland (25%) within 3 km, trees (74%) within 16 km, and trees (53%) and water (38%) within 80 km.

3 km
165 m
16 km
913 m
80 km
1,640 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Winter weather nearby: Sueyoshichō-ninokata 2.0 km · Miyakonojō 12 km · Mochibaru 18 km · Shibushi 22 km · Kokubu-matsuki 23 km · Kirishima 24 km · Hamanoichi 26 km · Kushima 30 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 Soo (31.6464°, 130.9907°, elevation 217 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.