Late November and Early December

Interested in visiting Japan from Nov. 22 to Dec. 12. Would visit Tokyo and Kanazawa in the last week of November, continue to Kyoto over the weekend and move on to Okayama, Himeji, and Miyajima over the first week of December. What could we expect in terms of weather, based upon past patterns? Not asking for a prediction for what this year will be. Thanks.

I have been in Hiroshima Prefecture (mostly in places along the Seto Inland Sea) in the first half of December and the weather was clear and crisp. Temperature was about 40-45F. None of the days I was there did it rain or snow. As someone who endures winters from 0-20F winters, it was quite nice.

That is one of my favorite times to visit, though we always start at Nara and get the end of autumn colours. The food is great, not quite as busy, still green about and some colour.

Until the last 2 years I would have said expect it to be very chilly - early morning walks in Kyoto by 1 December would be under 5 celsius, with sunny days getting to the early to mid teens celsius - warm out of the wind and in the sun, but cold otherwise. The wind does get mightily cold, and that usually starts very early December if not late November and that is when the leaves really brown off. Miyajima gets very cold with the wind as well. It has snowed in Kyoto in early-ish December but it is rare. Kanazawa can be very rainy, but I have only been in late December not early.

I would take a heavy-ish jacket to be worn over tee shirts. No point layering in Japan as anything indoors or in public transport is set to the temperature of hell so you have to peel everything off again. There is always Uniqlo if you get too cold.

I would mention that the last couple of years it hasnt been as cold, but still the beauty of the heavy jacket is that you can leave it unzipped. I would still take it because the wind does get bitterly cold.

I was in Tokyo and Kyoto mid-Nov to mid-Dec 2019. A shirt and a light jacket was sufficient for November, but there were cold windy days in December when I wore a heavier jacket, either in place of the light jacket or on top of the light jacket. One thing that I was glad to have was the hood on both jackets - those piercing northerly wind can freeze your ears off.

Coming from Canada and someone who loves the cold, Tokyo in November is the perfect time to visit because it is neither hot nor cold. I've traveled to Japan in November and December. Temperatures range from mid-late teens, so mild. Not sure if I am the rain god, but I have had to days of consistent rain (sometimes heavy) when I am there. But then the next day it is sunny. Night time can get chilly because of the breezes especially around tall buildings.

Thank you for your responses. It gives me a good idea.

I'm sure you got a lot of responses, but if you're traveling from east to west, you can expect weather in this months to be quite cold, though the further west and south you go, it won't be quite as cold. Tokyo and the northern areas get a bit of snow, but once you get to Osaka and further west, you don't really see snow.

I hope that you will enjoy your trip in Japan!