Climate · Otaru

Otaru in December

Cold and wet, as the days hold steady.

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years

December in Otaru is cold: highs near 37°F, lows near 27°F. Rain or snow falls on about six days a week, more often as the month goes on, and daylight holds at about 9 hours 2 minutes.December in Otaru is cold: highs near 3°C, lows near -3°C. Rain or snow falls on about six days a week, more often as the month goes on, and daylight holds at about 9 hours 2 minutes.

High
37°F3°Caverage
Low
27°F-3°Caverage
Wet days
6a week · 81% of days
Daylight
9h 02mon average

Is December a good time to visit Otaru?


December sits outside Otaru's best months, which run from June to September. Expect cold days and rain or snow on about six days a week.

How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 70°F to 80°F, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 21°C to 27°C, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.

How December sits in the year

week by week

Temperature

Highs near 37°F in December, against 32°F to 80°F through the year.Highs near 3°C in December, against 0°C to 27°C through the year.

Chance of a wet day

81% of days in December, against 40% to 81% through the year.

Cloud cover

70% cover in December, against 43% to 75% through the year.

Daylight

9h 02m in December, against 9h 02m to 15h 19m through the year.

Week by week, lightly smoothed, with December shaded. The olive line marks the best months. Hover or tap a week for its figures.

Either side


  1. November50°10°low 38°low 3°5 wet days a weekRain on about five days a week.
  2. December37°3°low 27°low -3°6 wet days a weekRain on about six days a week.
  3. January32°0°low 22°low -6°6 wet days a weekRain on about six days a week.

Where Otaru sits, in December

Asia/Tokyo

this place
typical high in December 40°F4°C95°F35°C
Sunrise, mid-December
7:01 AMsets 4:02 PM
Above the sea
0 mlow-lying
Latitude
43.2°Nnorthern hemisphere
Nearest of ours
Kiroro13 km south

The land around Otaru, shaded by its typical high in December, the planning map's own layer. Hover the map for the figure at that spot; tap it on a phone. Clock times are local, for the 15th.

Elsewhere in Japan in December

high · low · wet days

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years (1995–2024), read 8 km west of Otaru. Its own grid square is mostly sea and holds only a daily average, so the page reads the nearest square with a true high and low near the town's height. Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 3.1°F cold in the source data and are raised to match, and both highs and lows are adjusted for the town's height (0 m) against the climate model's (144 m).Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 1.7°C cold in the source data and are raised to match, and both highs and lows are adjusted for the town's height (0 m) against the climate model's (144 m). Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not. Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.

Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not.

Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.