Japan - weather in March

March is the first month of spring in Japan, and it is still a cold and snowy month in the north, therefore with winter characteristics, while in the south it is mild but rainy.

The daily average temperature is 0/-1 °C (30/32 °F) on the island of Hokkaido (see Abashiri, Sapporo), which is influenced by the Siberian currents, to the point that the north coast is reached by drifting iceberg.
On the island of Honshu, the average is 3 °C (37.5 °F) in the far north (see Aomori), around 6 °C (43 °F) in the north, on both sides (see Niigata, Sendai), and 9.5/10 °C (49/50 °F) on the southern coast (see Tokyo, Osaka). On the island of Kyushu, the average reaches up to 13 °C (55.5 °F) on the south coast (see Kagoshima).
On the small southern islands, where the climate is almost tropical, the temperature is much higher, since the average is 19.5 °C (67 °F) in Okinawa and 21 °C (70 °F) in Ishigaki.
In Japan the sea attenuates extreme values, however, cold waves can occur in the north, especially in the first half of the month, during which the temperature can drop to -15 °C (5 °F) in Hokkaido, while in Tokyo and Osaka it only drops to around 0 °C (32 °F).

As regards to the rains, in March they increase compared to winter, especially where this was the driest season, i.e. in the south and on the southern side of the islands of Kyushu (see Kagoshima), Shikoku (see Kochi) and Honshu (see Osaka, Tokyo).
Instead, in the center-north, on the coasts facing north-west (see Sapporo, Aomori, Niigata, Kanazawa), precipitation decreases slightly compared to January and February; however, it is still frequent, and especially on the island of Hokkaido it often occurs in the form of snow.
Heavy snowfalls also occur in the mountains further south, in the central part of Honshu, whose north-west side, east of Kanazawa, is called "snow country" or Yukiguni. In the mountains there are several ski lifts.

At the end of March, the cherry blossom (hanami) occurs in the center-south, and generally around March 30th, the peak of the blossoming occurs on the southern coast of the island of Honshu (see Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Yokohama, Tokyo).

In March, the sea is warm enough for swimming only on the small southernmost islands of Japan, namely Okinawa and even more so Miyakojima and Ishigaki, which are located just north of the Tropic of Cancer. However, air temperature is not very high and the sun does not shine often.




See also: Japan, the weather in February - April
The climate of Japan