In general, Japan's winters are relatively mild and dry.

In the subtropical Ryukyu Islands, winters are cool and sunny. Central Japan, around Tokyo, experiences short winters with cold and sunny days and occasional snowfall. Northern Japan (northern Honshu and Hokkaido) experiences long, cold winters with bitterly cold temperatures that help keep snow on the ground for up to four months a year. The sparkling, beautiful winter is perfect for skiing, skating, and the annual snow festival in Sapporo with its world-famous ice sculptures. Winter is a remarkably dry, bright season across the Kansai area, which includes the Seto Inland Sea, Ise Bay, and the central lowlands on Honshu. This region experiences a mild climate due to the mountains along its northern and southern extent blocking most of the north-westerly seasonal winds. This situation also reduces the annual average rainfall to less than 1,200 mm (47.2 in). The cold winds blowing out of East Asia pick up moisture across the Sea of Japan and dump relatively heavy snowfall along the coastal regions facing the Sea of Japan. On the Pacific side of Japan there is very little snow and the temperature rarely drops much below freezing. Tokyo has an average January high temperature of 4.7C (41F). To the north, Sapporo, on the Sea of Japan side of Hokkaido, has an average January high temperature of -4.9C (23F). Further south and along the Ryukyu Island chain enjoys mild winters. Even in January, Naha, Okinawa, averages a moderate high temperature of 16C (60.8F). Night-time temperatures hover around 14C (58F).

Summers in Japan last from June to September and bring a mixture of high temperatures and high relative humidity. Temperatures across the country range from warm to very hot. The high humidity makes life in Japan's low-lying cities can feel uncomfortably close. Rain falls throughout the year in Japan, but by June and early July, the increasingly southerly winds bring on the country's main rainy season. For two or three weeks Japan is washed by the "Ume Rain," so-called because that is the time of year the ume, or plum tree, bears fruit. While it doesn't rain continuously, the downpour can go on for days at a time, with high humidity keeping everything damp. Following close on the heels of the heavy rains comes a hot and humid summer. Day after day, temperatures rise to over 30C (86F). Northern Japan (northern Honshu and Hokkaido) experiences warm summers a respite from the heat and humidity further south. Hokkaido, with its vistas of mountains, forests, rivers, wetlands, and meadows, is much drier than the Tokyo area. Sapporo averages a relatively cooler 20.2C (68F). Wakkanai, on the northern end of Hokkaido, has an average July high temperature of 19C (67F). Rainfall is intermittent with sunshine. Summer in central Japan is muggy. Tokyo's average high temperature in July is 27C (82F). Evenings are a bit more tolerable, with the average temperature dropping to 21C (71F). On average, the relative humidity in the Japanese capital in July ranges from 89% in the morning to 72% in the afternoon. Okinawa, in the Ryukyu Islands, falls well inside the temperate zone, but its climate is subtropical with long, hot, humid summers due to the strong influences of the surrounding ocean, monsoons, typhoons, and the warm "Kuroshio" current. July in Naha, Okinawa, averages 37C (87F) for a daytime high temperature, cooling off only by an average of 4C (7F) at night. About 28 typhoons develop in the western Pacific from June to September, and towards the end of summer and into early autumn, two or three regularly roar in from the southwest to strike the Ryukyu Islands. Most however, generally blow themselves out long before reaching Tokyo.

Japan is at its climatic best during autumn, when temperatures throughout the country turn generally mild and the humidity begins to drop noticeably. Despite the fact that typhoons are not uncommon through September, the shifting seasonal winds sweep the clouds from the sky to make way for another change of seasons. The heavy summer rains on Shikoku are diminishing. Beginning in the north, cooler temperatures begin their annual ritual of turning out the gorgeous fall colors of Japan's forests. October's average high temperature in Wakkani, Hokkaido, is 12C (55F), with overnight lows averaging around 12C (47F). Tokyo still enjoys pleasant days with temperatures averaging 20C (69F) in October. Autumn is hardly a thought in Okinawa, where the October high temperature averages 26C (80F).

While the people of northern Japan are still shivering in the aftermath of a bitterly cold and snowy winter, the fortunate inhabitants of the southern islands are getting out their bathing suits. The true harbinger of springtime in Japan is the cherry tree, which starts to bloom in March and April. Although these elegantly beautiful trees are at their best for only a few brief days in any one place, if you followed the blooms northward you could spend six weeks from late March to mid-May enjoying the spectacle up the length of Japan. Towards the end of June, the mild, sunny and windy spring soon gives way to summer and the start of a month long rainy season. The onset of the southerly Pacific winds also brings the start of a heavy rain season to the island of Shikoku.