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

Averages for 1991–2020 at the JMA's Nagasaki station (27 m above sea level).

High

13.1°C (56°F)

Low

6.0°C (43°F)

Precipitation

74.8 mm

Wet days

8.2 days

Sunshine

114 hours

• Highs fall 5.4°C from November and drop another 2.4°C into January.
• That is 8.1°C below Nagasaki's yearly average high of 21.2°C.
• Of our 34 places with temperature records, Nagasaki is the 6th warmest in December: 2.2°C cooler than Kagoshima and 0.2°C warmer than Kumamoto.
• December is Nagasaki's 2nd driest month (74.8 mm).
• Of our 35 places, Nagasaki has the 15th highest precipitation in December: 18.4 mm less than Kagoshima and 7.3 mm more than Fukuoka.
• Rain of 1 mm or more falls on 8.2 days, and 10 mm or more on 2.4 days.
• Rain of 30 mm or more in one day falls on 0.5 days.
• Snow or sleet falls on 5.6 days.
• The sun is out for 40% or more of the possible hours on 13.9 days, and 3.7 days have under 0.1 hours of sunshine.
• On 15 December 2026 the sun rises at 7:15 and sets at 17:16 in Nagasaki, giving 10 hours 1 minute of daylight (NAOJ).

Average temperature

9.4°C (49°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 Nagasaki is 2.2°C lower than in the first ten.

By ten-day totals, 1–10 December is the wettest (33.7 mm) and 11–20 December the driest (18.5 mm).

Is Nagasaki cold in December?

Yes, it is chilly. Nagasaki averages 13.1°C (56°F) by day and 6.0°C (43°F) at night in December. It gets colder still: 21–31 January has highs of 10.3°C.

Chilly: highs around 13.1°C

• A warm jacket or light coat over a sweater.
• A folding umbrella: rain falls on 8.2 days.

Shoes

• Shoes with good grip: snow or sleet falls on 5.6 days.

Pack

• Folding umbrella

• Our clothing rules

Autumn leaves (maple)

The JMA's sample maple in Nagasaki turns red around 7 December and has lost most of its leaves by 21 December in an average year (1991–2020). In 2025: 2 December.

Ginkgo turns yellow

The JMA's sample ginkgo in Nagasaki turns yellow around 5 December and has lost most of its leaves by 15 December in an average year (1991–2020). In 2025: 12 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 Nagasaki Prefecture were 59.9% full on average (3rd busiest of 12 months). Foreign guests spent 71,020 nights there that month (Japan Tourism Agency). That compares with 67.5% in November and 46.0% in January.

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