Guide 03 · City comparison
Tokyo vs Sapporo weather by month: the north–south gap in one table
Tokyo and Sapporo make the regional variation inside Japan visible. The gap is large in winter and remains present through the warmer months.
Selected month comparisons
| Month | Sapporo mean °C | Tokyo mean °C | Sapporo precip. mm | Tokyo precip. mm | Sapporo sun h | Tokyo sun h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | -3.2 | 5.4 | 108.4 | 59.7 | 90.4 | 192.6 |
| March | 1.1 | 9.4 | 77.6 | 116.0 | 144.7 | 175.3 |
| June | 17.0 | 21.9 | 60.4 | 167.8 | 180.0 | 124.2 |
| August | 22.3 | 26.9 | 126.8 | 154.7 | 168.1 | 174.2 |
| November | 5.2 | 12.5 | 113.8 | 96.3 | 99.1 | 149.8 |
Why a national average would hide the question
The January mean-temperature difference in this table is 8.6°C, from -3.2°C in Sapporo to 5.4°C in Tokyo. In August it is 4.6°C. Those are observed-station normals, not a rule for every neighbourhood, mountain area or individual trip. Still, they show why “Japan in January” has little value without a location.
The temperature contrast is not the only distinction. June has a much higher Tokyo precipitation normal in this data set, while Sapporo’s June sunshine-duration normal is higher. Reading all three measures helps avoid replacing one oversimplified claim with another.
Source and limits. JMA Tables of Climatological Normals (1991–2020), organized here for comparison. Climate normals are not forecasts or disruption advice.