Tokyo in December (2026): Weather, Christmas Lights, Prices & Best Things to Do

⭐ Best December window: Sunday, December 6 to Thursday, December 17, staying Sunday to Thursday nights. Those nights had median hotel rates of $138 to $171 in our sample, the illuminations and Christmas markets are all running, and the last of the city's autumn colour is still on the trees in the first week.

💰 December 2026 hotel prices (central Tokyo, 3 to 5 stars, in US dollars):
December 1 to 22, Sunday to Thursday nights: ~$138–180/night · Friday nights: ~$176–193/night · Saturday nights: ~$238–256/night
December 23 to 30: ~$167–258/night · New Year's Eve: ~$341
Each range runs from the lowest to the highest daily median in that group of nights. The daily median is the middle rate, each night, of the 318 hotels in Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza and Tokyo Station, Asakusa, Ueno and Roppongi and Akasaka that quoted on at least 90% of the nights from December 1 to 31, 2026 (two adults, one night, before taxes, pulled November 3, 2026). Individual hotels range far wider.

Planning Tokyo for December 2026? It is the start of Tokyo's dry winter. The long-term normals give the city 57.9 mm of rain on about 5 days, afternoons of 12.0°C (54°F) and nights of 3.8°C (39°F), with about 174 hours of sunshine, and the sun sets at about 4:30 pm all month. The weather figures on this page are climate normals; the hotel prices, tour schedules and event dates are for December 2026 specifically.

December is really two months. Until about December 22 the city is calm, bright and, by Tokyo standards, good value, with Christmas lights and markets running from Roppongi to Shiba Park. From Christmas, Japan heads into its year-end holiday: hotel rates climb, traffic out of the city builds, and some tours and sights close from about December 28.

In our view, the first three weeks of December are one of the best-value times to see Tokyo, and the clearest weather of the autumn for Mt Fuji. We'd only plan around New Year's Eve if seeing the year in at a temple or shrine is the point of the trip.

• Best dates: Sunday to Thursday nights from December 6 to 17, for the lowest hotel rates with the markets and lights running.
• Avoid if possible: December 29 to 31 if you want tours and sights, and New Year's Eve if you are watching the budget.
• Best for: couples, photographers and anyone combining Tokyo with a clear day at Mt Fuji.

Temperature, rainfall, rain-day and sunshine figures are the World Meteorological Organization's 1991 to 2020 climate normals for the Japan Meteorological Agency's Tokyo station (WMO 47662), published by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information. Humidity, cloud cover and snow days are the Japan Meteorological Agency's own normals for the same station.

Temperature

Afternoons average 12.0°C (54°F) and nights 3.8°C (39°F), about 5°C colder than November by day and night. Sunny afternoons can feel mild in the sun, but the temperature drops quickly after sunset, and an evening by the water or at an outdoor market is properly cold. Most guests find that a warm coat, a hat and gloves for the evenings are enough; the city rarely freezes.

Rain Pattern

December is one of Tokyo's driest months: 57.9 mm on about 5 days with at least 1 mm, against 96.3 mm on 7 days in November and 59.7 mm on 4 or 5 days in January. Humidity falls to about 56%, so the air is crisp and dry. Snow in central Tokyo is rare this early in the winter; the Japan Meteorological Agency's normals give less than one day with snow in December.

Sky, Daylight and Mt Fuji

The biggest difference is the sky. Sunshine rises to about 174 hours, from 150 in November, and average cloud cover falls to 4.7 tenths, the lowest of the year after January. On clear mornings Mt Fuji, about 100 km away, is visible from the city's observation decks and even from some streets. The days are the shortest of the year: sunrise is from about 6:31 am to 6:50 am and sunset from 4:27 pm to 4:37 pm, so plan outdoor sightseeing for the morning and early afternoon.

We priced the 3- to 5-star hotels with at least 200 reviews in Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza and Tokyo Station, Asakusa, Ueno and Roppongi and Akasaka for every night from December 1, 2026 to January 1, 2027, and kept the 318 that quoted on at least 90% of December's nights. Each range below runs from the lowest to the highest daily median in that stretch, the daily median being the middle rate of those hotels on a given night. All prices are in US dollars for two adults, before taxes.

• December 1 to 5: $164 to $190 from Tuesday to Friday, and $249 on Saturday, December 5.
• December 6 to 12: $147 to $171 from Sunday to Thursday, $193 on Friday and $256 on Saturday, December 12.
• December 13 to 19: the lowest week of the month, $138 to $159 from Sunday to Thursday, with Monday, December 14 the cheapest night at $138. Friday was $176 and Saturday, December 19 $238.
• December 20 to 25: $146 to $167 from Sunday to Wednesday, then $188 on Christmas Eve and $223 on Christmas night. Hotel by hotel, Christmas Eve cost a median 21% more than the same hotel a week earlier.
• December 26 to 30: $213 to $258, as the year-end holiday starts.
• December 31: $341, the dearest night of the month, with about one hotel in seven returning no rate at all. January 1 was $232.

Most people don't realize how much cheaper December is than November in Tokyo. Hotel by hotel, the same hotels' quotes for Wednesday, November 18, 2026 were a median 30% above their December average, as were their quotes for Wednesday, March 31, 2027, in cherry blossom season. Mid-January and mid-July 2027 came out about 25% below December. Before Christmas, the typical Friday or Saturday median was $216, against $152 for the other nights. Areas differ too: the median hotel in Asakusa was about $138 a night in December, in Ueno $140, Roppongi and Akasaka $163, Shinjuku $181, Ginza and Tokyo Station $210 and Shibuya $225.

These are the costs we measured for December 2026, in US dollars. Hotel rates are per room for two adults, before taxes; tour prices are per person.

An example: three Sunday to Thursday nights before Christmas at the typical weeknight median of $152, plus the Mt Fuji day trip and the Shinjuku food tour for two, comes to about $930 before other meals, local transport and taxes. Moving the same stay to Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights would add roughly $120 to $170 at the medians we measured, and the same three weeknights after Christmas would add about $200 to $300. Hotels vary far more than the medians: the cheapest hotel in our showcase quoted about $163 a night for mid-December, and the dearest about $857.

December's signature draw in Tokyo is the winter illuminations. Most run through Christmas Day, and Christmas Eve is a night out for couples in Japan rather than a family holiday, so restaurants book up and the lights are busiest that evening.

The Roppongi Hills dates are from the Roppongi Hills Christmas page, the Tokyo Christmas Market dates from the organiser's official site and its announcement, and the Hagoita-ichi from the Tokyo government's tourism site, which says it is held on December 17 to 19 every year. We could not find the 2026 dates for the Marunouchi illumination when we checked.

The last of the autumn leaves

Tokyo's maples were forecast to peak around November 29 in the Japan Meteorological Corporation's 2026 forecast, and the Meiji Jingu Gaien ginkgo avenue usually holds its colour into early December. By mid-month most trees in the city are bare, so come in the first week of December if the leaves matter to you; our Tokyo in November guide covers the peak. Winter is also the clearest season for Mt Fuji, one of the trips in our best day trips from Tokyo guide, and our best things to do in Tokyo guide covers the rest of the city.

Hagoita-ichi: December 17 to 19

The Hagoita-ichi fills the grounds of Senso-ji in Asakusa with stalls selling ornate battledores, hagoita, decorated with kabuki actors and the year's celebrities, as New Year good-luck charms. It is free to wander, and a good reason to base yourself in Asakusa that week; our Asakusa walking tour guide covers the area.

Risk level: low before Christmas, moderate in the last week. The weather rarely spoils a December trip; the year-end holiday is what changes your plans.

• Year-end closures: the Imperial Palace East Gardens usually close from December 28 to January 3, and our East Gardens walk had no dates from December 28. The bike tour and the yakatabune cruise had no dates on December 29 to 31, and the Shinjuku food tour none on December 30 and 31. Many museums, shops and restaurants also close for a few days around New Year, so check each one before you go.
• Year-end traffic: of 37 December 2025 reviews of our Fuji pick, the ones that complain of traffic or a dropped ropeway stop are from December 28 and 30. We'd book Fuji in the first three weeks.
• Fuji's winter road: the road to the 5th Station can close for snow and ice in winter. Our Fuji pick then goes to Oshino Hakkai, the spring-fed village below the mountain, instead.
• Cold evenings: nights average 3.8°C, and outdoor markets, dinner cruises and evening walks feel colder still. Bring gloves and a hat.
• Short days: sunset is at about 4:30 pm all month. Start day trips early, and save the evenings for the lights.

Alternatives on a cold or grey day: the Shinjuku food walk, which moves between indoor eateries, a museum in Ueno Park before the year-end closures, or an observation deck once the sky clears. We think the tradeoff is fair: December's cold comes with the driest, clearest weather of the autumn.

Christmas in Tokyo

Christmas is not a public holiday in Japan, so shops, sights and tours run as normal on December 24 and 25. It is a time for illuminations, Christmas cake and dinners out for couples, and the markets and lights close on December 25. If you want a special dinner on Christmas Eve, book it well ahead.

New Year's Eve: Thursday, December 31, 2026

New Year's Eve, omisoka, is a quiet family evening for most people in Japan, and the celebration happens at temples and shrines. Temples ring their bells 108 times around midnight, and the crowds for the first shrine visit of the year, hatsumode, build at Meiji Jingu and Senso-ji from late in the evening of December 31 into January 1 to 3. Expect long queues, crowd control and packed trains around midnight; many restaurants close early or for the holiday.

Holidays and sumo

There are no public holidays in Japan in December, but the year-end break, when most offices close from about December 29 to January 3, works like one. There is no sumo tournament in December; the next Tokyo tournament is in January, and our sumo guide covers the 2027 dates.

Ranked by our own score of how well each activity suits December's conditions, out of 10. Guest ratings out of 5 are quoted separately below.

1. Mt Fuji and Hakone: December's pick

Japan Panoramic Tours' day trip costs $156 per person and runs for about 11 hours, with the 5th Station of Mt Fuji, or Oshino Hakkai when the road is closed, a ropeway over Hakone, a cruise on Lake Ashi and a bullet train back to Tokyo Station. It runs every day in December, from Ginza on weekdays and from Shinjuku every day. Guests rate it 4.8 out of 5 across 33,277 reviews; its 37 reviews from December 2025 average 4.43, a little below the tour's overall score, and two of the six low ratings, from December 28 and 30, blame year-end traffic or a dropped ropeway stop. We'd book this for a weekday before Christmas: the sky is at its clearest, the roads are quieter, and guests describe fresh snow at the 5th Station on December 3 and a clear view from it on December 19. Our Mt Fuji tour guide compares ten options.

2 and 4. The lights and the view from above

The Roppongi Hills illumination is lit from 5 pm, and the Tokyo Christmas Markets at Shin-Toyosu and Shiba Park, near Tokyo Tower, run to December 25. On a clear morning or at sunset, Shibuya Sky and the free observation decks of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Nishi-Shinjuku give the best chance of the year of seeing Mt Fuji from the city.

3 and 5. Evenings: food and the bay

The Shinjuku food tour costs $82 for 13 dishes at four eateries, with two drinks, in groups of up to 12, and runs every day to December 29. December is the season of year-end office parties, bonenkai, so the izakaya are at their liveliest. Orange Tour's yakatabune cruise costs from $100 with a sukiyaki dinner, and its 4:50 pm sailing leaves just after sunset, with the bay lit up for the season. See our Tokyo food tours and Tokyo Bay dinner cruise guides.

6 and 7. On foot and by bike

The small-group bike tour costs $104 for a 6-hour, 27 km ride in groups of no more than five; it starts at 8:30 am, when it is cold, so dress in layers. The Imperial Palace East Gardens walk costs $13 for two hours, with 20 December dates before the year-end closure. We like both in the first half of the month, when the last leaves are still on the trees. See our bike tour and walking tour guides.

8. Hagoita-ichi and New Year

The Hagoita-ichi brings Senso-ji's grounds alive on December 17 to 19, and the same temple, with Meiji Jingu, draws the biggest New Year crowds from late on December 31. See our Asakusa walking tour and Meiji Shrine guides.

9. Nikko

The Nikko day trip costs $109 and runs every day in December from Ginza. It is a trip for Toshogu's shrines and Kegon Falls in the cold; Lake Chuzenji, at about 1,270 metres, is near freezing and can see snow. See our Nikko day trip guide.

• Book December 6 to 17 for value. The median Sunday to Thursday night was $138 to $171 in our sample, against $213 to $258 after Christmas and $341 on New Year's Eve.
• Do the Fuji day trip before Christmas. The clearest skies come with less traffic, and the complaints in last year's reviews cluster on December 28 and 30.
• Check the year-end dates. The Imperial Palace East Gardens usually close from December 28 to January 3, and several of our tours had no dates on December 29 to 31.
• Book Christmas Eve dinner early. It is a couples' night in Japan, and popular restaurants fill up.
• Dress for 4°C nights. A warm coat, gloves and a hat make the markets and evening lights far more pleasant.
• Do the outdoor sights before 3 pm. The sun sets at about 4:30 pm all month.
• Visiting at a different time of year? Our Tokyo in November guide covers the autumn-leaf peak and the Labor Thanksgiving weekend, and our Tokyo in January guide covers New Year, the January sumo tournament and some of the lowest hotel rates of the year.