Kagoshima in December: weather, what to wear and what's on

Averages for 1991–2020 at the JMA's Kagoshima station (4 m above sea level).

High

15.3°C (60°F)

Low

6.9°C (44°F)

Precipitation

93.2 mm

Wet days

8.1 days

Sunshine

143 hours

• Highs fall 5.3°C from November and drop another 2.2°C into January.
• That is 7.8°C below Kagoshima's yearly average high of 23.1°C.
• Of our 34 places with temperature records, Kagoshima is the 5th warmest in December: 1.5°C cooler than Yakushima and 2.2°C warmer than Nagasaki.
• December is Kagoshima's 2nd driest month (93.2 mm).
• Of our 35 places, Kagoshima has the 14th highest precipitation in December: 1.4 mm less than Hakodate and 18.4 mm more than Nagasaki.
• Rain or snow of 1 mm or more falls on 8.1 days, and 10 mm or more on 3.0 days.
• Rain or snow of 30 mm or more in one day falls on 0.7 days.
• 1 cm of snow falls in an average December.
• Snow or sleet falls on 1.7 days.
• The sun is out for 40% or more of the possible hours on 16.8 days, and 3.2 days have under 0.1 hours of sunshine.
• By the JMA's cloud records, 4.0 days are clear and 8.4 are overcast.
• On 15 December 2026 the sun rises at 7:09 and sets at 17:16 in Kagoshima, giving 10 hours 7 minutes of daylight (NAOJ).

Average temperature

10.9°C (52°F)

Humidity

67%

Deepest snow (average of each year's deepest)

1 cm

Early, mid and late December

By the last ten days of December the average high in Kagoshima is 2.2°C lower than in the first ten.

By ten-day totals, 1–10 December is the wettest (43.6 mm) and 21–31 December the driest (24.4 mm).

Is Kagoshima cold in December?

Not really: it is cool. Kagoshima averages 15.3°C (60°F) by day and 6.9°C (44°F) at night in December. It gets colder still: 21–31 January has highs of 12.8°C.

Cool: highs around 15.3°C

• Long sleeves with a light jacket or sweater.
• A folding umbrella: rain or snow falls on 8.1 days.

Pack

• Folding umbrella

• Our clothing rules

Autumn leaves (maple)

The JMA's sample maple in Kagoshima turns red around 15 December and has lost most of its leaves by 24 December in an average year (1991–2020). In 2025: 2 December.

Ginkgo turns yellow

The JMA's sample ginkgo in Kagoshima turns yellow around 25 November and has lost most of its leaves by 6 December in an average year (1991–2020). In 2025: 2 December.

Dates are for one sample tree at or near the JMA observatory, not for every park in the city.

There are no national holidays in December 2026.

In December 2025, hotels and inns across Kagoshima Prefecture were 52.5% full on average (5th busiest of 12 months). Foreign guests spent 78,300 nights there that month (Japan Tourism Agency). That compares with 59.4% in November and 47.9% in January.

• Japan in December: visitor numbers and busy travel days
• Holidays in December
• Year-end and New Year holidays