Japan's Coldest Temperature Day

What Is Japan's Coldest Temperature Day?

Every January 25th is "Japan's Coldest Temperature Day" (日本最低気温の日, Nihon Saitei Kion no Hi). On January 25, 1902, the weather station at Asahikawa (旭川市) in Hokkaido recorded a temperature of -41.0°C — the lowest temperature ever officially measured in Japan. This extraordinary cold — on the same day that the Hakkōda Mountain military disaster was unfolding in Aomori — marked the absolute lower limit of temperatures recorded in Japan's modern meteorological history and remains an unsurpassed record over 120 years later.

The Cold of January 25, 1902

Asahikawa, located in the Kamikawa Basin of central Hokkaido, is geographically disposed to extreme cold — surrounded by mountains that trap cold air masses in winter, with clear skies that allow intense radiative cooling. On January 25, 1902, a powerful cold air outbreak pushed temperatures to extremes across northern Japan. The -41.0°C recorded at Asahikawa was extraordinary even by Hokkaido standards, and the record has never been broken at any official weather station in Japan.

Asahikawa's Cold Climate

Asahikawa regularly experiences some of Japan's coldest winter temperatures outside of high mountain stations, and the city has long adapted to the cold. Note that on February 17, 1978, -41.2°C was measured at a Hokkaido University research forest in Moshiri, Horokanai, but because it was not an official Japan Meteorological Agency station, Asahikawa's 1902 reading remains the official record. The summit of Mt. Fuji recorded -38.0°C on February 27, 1981. Asahikawa is also home to the famous "Asahikawa Ramen" (旭川ラーメン) — the city's signature noodle dish, enjoyed with particular appreciation on frigid winter days.

Cold Records in Context

Japan's -41.0°C Asahikawa record is impressively cold by global standards, though it falls short of truly extreme polar records (-89.2°C at Vostok Station, Antarctica). It does, however, represent the extreme end of temperatures experienced in a populated, functioning city — a reminder of the extraordinary range of climatic conditions that Japan's archipelago encompasses, from subtropical Okinawa to subarctic Hokkaido.

Fun Facts

• Asahikawa Winter Festival: The Asahikawa Winter Festival (旭川冬まつり) celebrates the city's extreme cold with elaborate ice and snow sculptures, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each February — turning the city's most challenging characteristic into a tourist attraction.
• Hokkaido's winter economy: Hokkaido's cold winters are a major economic asset — supporting world-class ski resorts (particularly Niseko), winter sports tourism, and the production of high-quality dairy products and winter vegetables that benefit from cold storage conditions.