Best time to visit Hokkaido & Northern Japan (Sapporo)

The best time to visit Hokkaido & Northern Japan (Sapporo) is Jun–Aug. Month by month, the verdicts rate May–Aug as comfortable on both daytime heat and rainfall — 4 months in all.

Snowy winters; escapes the rainy season

Best window
Jun–Aug
Driest month
June · 34% rainy days
Warmest month
August · 24.2°C / 76°F
Coolest month
January · -4.1°C / 25°F
Months rated go
4 of 12

Month by month

Monthly climate normals for Hokkaido & Northern Japan (Sapporo), 1991–2020
MonthHigh °CHigh °FRainy daysVerdict
January-4.12579%Too cold
February-3.62673%Too cold
March-0.23252%Too cold
April7.94638%Fair
May15.05936%Go
June19.66734%Go
July23.47440%Go
August24.27643%Go
September20.16851%Fair
October13.55653%Fair
November5.34266%Too wet
December-1.92976%Too cold

Verdict combines mean daytime high with rainy-day frequency. “Rainy days” is the share of days in the month with at least 1 mm of rain.

What the numbers say

June is the driest month, with rain on 34% of days and daytime highs near 19.6°C (67°F). January is the wettest, at 79%. Temperature swings hard across the year — 28.3°C between August (24.2°C / 76°F) and January (-4.1°C / 25°F) — so packing for the wrong month is the main risk. The record rules out too cold in Dec–Mar; too wet in November.

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