Kanazawa weather in December

December in Kanazawa: cold, soaked, with clean air — a gamble, with 24 rainy days.

Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis

Kanazawa🇯🇵 Japan · Mainland Japan · City50
  1. 48Jan
  2. 58Feb
  3. 67Mar
  4. 76Apr
  5. 88May
  6. 78Jun
  7. 57Jul
  8. 56Aug
  9. 66Sep
  10. 80Oct
  11. 70Nov
  12. 50Dec

#11 of 12 months in Kanazawa · #1167 of 1413 destinations to visit in December · comfort 50/100 (tier D)

Days
11°C
Nights
4°C
Wet days
24
Sun
6.8 h
Humidity
82%
Daylight
10 h
Kanazawa, Japan
Photo: Andrei I · Pexels

Traveller notes on Kanazawa in December

Other months in Kanazawa

Regulars are direct that this falls squarely within typhoon season here, a day or two of genuinely heavy downpour and strong wind a real possibility that can disrupt transport and sightseeing plans. Our row backs that warm, genuinely wet read, 28.1C reading as a hot 31C, over 21C nights feeling 22C, with a substantial 202mm of rain across 15.3 days and humidity at 84 percent. Regulars are consistent most of the rain that does fall arrives without the wind, an inexpensive umbrella the standard advice rather than a reason to cancel outdoor plans outright. Kanazawa itself can also catch the tail end of typhoons making landfall elsewhere in Japan even without a direct hit. The sea sits at a bath-warm 28C. The record: 8.3 hours of sun, an 18.3 kph wind and AQI 40.
TyphoonSeasonRainUsuallyWithoutWind · September · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
March here is the end of a Sea of Japan winter rather than the start of spring. It can still snow in the first week, and our column carries 13.1cm across the month; the pines in Kenrokuen are still wearing their yukitsuri, the rope cones that hold the branches up under snow. Plum blossom opens from about the middle of the month in the grove at the garden's southern end, while the cherry belongs to April - regulars put the gardens at their best two or three weeks after mid-March. The weather is the cost: 12.9C reading as 9C, nights at 4.2C standing at 0C in a 22.9 kph wind, and 139.8mm of rain across 15 days. Early mornings are the quiet hours. The record: humidity 75 percent, 8.4 hours of sun and AQI 58.
TheRopesAreStillOnThePines · March · 1 month ago · Read more on tripadvisor.co.uk ↗
Regulars put the Kanazawa blossom peak around the 10th to the 15th of April, with a chance from about the 6th depending on the year, and they attach a warning that matters more than the dates. Spring rain is frequent here, and rain arriving with strong wind brings the flowers down with it - so the risk to the trip is not a wet afternoon but the end of the thing you came for. Our row is blunt about both halves: 153.4mm across 12.8 days, and a 22 kph average wind. Days reach 17.9C over 8.9C nights that feel like 5C, so layers rather than spring clothes. The record: humidity 75 percent, 9.2 hours of sun, 0.8cm of snow still on the books and AQI 64.
RainWithWindEndsIt · April · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
The tsuyu reaches Kanazawa around the 8th to the 10th of June, so the first week is the dry one and the rest of the month is the rainy season - though regulars are careful that this does not mean rain every day, and that what falls is usually light and warm rather than torrential, often intermittent and sometimes replaced by sun. Our row is at the wet end of that description: 152.6mm across 12.3 precipitation days, about twelve millimetres a wet day, under 26.6C and 79 percent humidity. Their advice is not to reschedule around it. Unless it is pouring, go to Kenrokuen - the hydrangeas and the moss are at their best now and the rain thins the crowds - and if you arrive without one, hotels lend umbrellas and any convenience store sells one for about 500 yen. The record: 19C nights, 9.7 hours of sun and AQI 64.
GoToKenrokuenAnyway · June · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗

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Kanazawa climate normals — December

Daytime high11°C / 51°F🧥 cold
Nighttime low4°C / 39°F
Feels like (high)7°C / 45°F
Sea temperature15°C / 58°F🥶 cold sea
Rainfall252 mm / 9.9 in⛈ soaked
Rainy days24 days
Humidity82%💦 very humid
Dew point2°C / 36°F
Sunshine6.8 h/day
Daylight9.7 h
Wind25 km/h / 15 mph
Snowfall50.1 cm / 19.7 in
Air quality (US AQI)35🍃 good

Monthly averages from ERA5 reanalysis. AQI is the mean US Air Quality Index for the month.

Crowds in Kanazawa in December

How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.

BusyWinter break (fuyuyasumi) in Japan, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it(estimated)

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet

Best months for Kanazawa's weather

Ranked by this destination's own climate comfort score across the year — a different thing from how busy it gets (see Crowds above).

Toughest weatherKanazawa's best weather comes in May, June and October — separate windows, not one continuous season.

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Best weatherFair weatherToughest weather

What's on in Kanazawa in December

Recurring seasonal events, natural spectacles, closures and holidays — curated and sourced.

  • Season

    Yukitsuri, the snow ropes

    1 Nov – 15 Mar

    The ropes that hold Kenrokuen's pines up under wet snow go on from 1 November and come off in the middle of March. Half the photographs of this city are of them.

  • Season

    Snow crab season

    6 Nov – 20 MarForaging season

    The boats go out on 6 November and land males until 20 March. The small female kobako crab is only sold until the end of December, which is when Omicho market is at its best and dearest.

  • Season

    Wet season

    MonsoonRisk

    24 rainy days and about 252 mm in the month — the real kind of rainy season, not afternoon showers.

    from the climate normals

  • Season

    Snow season

    Ski season

    About 50 cm of snow falls in the month.

    from the climate normals

What's on around the world in December →

Nearby, and something's on

Within 300 km of Kanazawa — a day trip or a short hop — with something on this month. Never part of the comfort score.

Where is Kanazawa?

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Kanazawa in December — FAQ

Is December a good time to visit Kanazawa?
December in Kanazawa: cold, soaked, with clean air — a gamble, with 24 rainy days. It ranks #11 of 12 months for Kanazawa on SeasonMap's comfort score (50/100).
What is the weather like in Kanazawa in December?
In December, Kanazawa averages a daily high of 10.5°C and a low of 3.7°C, with about 252.1 mm of rain over roughly 24.3 rainy days.
What is the air quality in Kanazawa in December?
Kanazawa has a mean US Air Quality Index of about 35 in December.
Does it snow in Kanazawa in December?
Kanazawa sees roughly 50.1 cm of snowfall in December.

Within 300 km: Karuizawa's First lifts in Japan on 1 Nov – 31 Mar, and Kyoto's Autumn colour around 10 Nov – 5 Dec.