What to pack for Tokyo in December

Lows around 36°F. Goes under the shell when the wind picks up.

Wear one, dry one. Cotton stays wet all week here.

The layer you'll wear more than any other.

Lows drop to 36°F, and wind runs 22 km/h, so a beanie stops heat loss from your head.

Your fingers go numb in 36°F air, especially with 22 km/h wind chill.

Coastal sun reflects off water and concrete even when the sky looks grey at 3.2 UV.

This item is not on the list because the conditions on this page do not require it.

Check ankles and, if there's a dog, paws and ears every night.

Urban Tokyo has hospitals, but minor cuts from winter activities need basic care.

Short winter days at 9.8 hours mean your phone dies before sunset if you're sightseeing.

Set it up before you land. Signal drops for long stretches outside cities.

Dark by 4:25pm. Every campsite chore after that is a two-hands job.

Thirty-five to forty-five liters fits overhead bins on every international carrier to Tokyo and back.

Nine hours of daylight means you're out exploring from dawn until dusk every day.

Fits the overhead on every airline that matters. Skip the checked-bag line entirely.

For the passport, the chargers, and the one dry pair of socks.

For the mornings and the nights.

Wind at 22 km/h finds every gap between your collar and jaw.

Seven rain days in December mean wet feet, and 36°F lows make them dangerous.

Treat the clothes once and it lasts weeks.

Tap water is safe, but carrying cold water helps you stay hydrated in dry 69% humidity.

One brick charges the laptop, phone, and camera.

Hotel and cafe wifi is shared with everyone else in the building. A VPN keeps your banking and email to yourself.

Tokyo is safe, but crowded trains and busy streets are where pickpockets work.

Busy stations and packed trains make bags easy to misplace in the rush.

One bag for a month in Tokyo needs organization to find clean clothes without unpacking.

Seven rain days plus urban dust means laundry runs twice a week, not once.

Lows around 36°F. One blanket that packs small covers the car, the campsite and the beach at sunset.

Trains are loud, and 9.8 hours of daylight keeps the city awake around you.

The 54°F high isn't enough to stay warm if you sit still in the wind.

Crowded trains and shared surfaces in December are how colds spread fastest.

Mosquitoes are rare in December, but when bites happen, sunscreen blocks UV that makes them itch worse.

One outlet per hotel room, and you have a phone, camera, and headphones to charge.

A few phrases go a long way. Ten minutes a day before you leave is plenty.

Japan requires your passport for entry and some hotels ask to copy it on arrival.

Checked luggage on international flights needs locks to prevent tampering in transit.

One bathroom and limited counter space in most Tokyo rooms demand a hanging organizer.

Long flights to Tokyo and noisy train cars make sleep hard without neck support.