Oldest standing records
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Each observation station in Japan has the highest maximum temperature and the lowest minimum temperature ever measured there, that is, its No. 1 on record. This page collects the top records on the high side and the low side and lists them in order from the oldest date on which the record was set. At the head of the list appear records set a very long time ago.
A "standing" record here means one that currently remains as that station's No. 1 on record. When a new record is set, the top spot passes to that day's value, and the station's record is replaced by one with a newer date, growing younger within the list. This list is not a fixed chronology but one that changes shape little by little with every hot or cold day.
The values are a summary that includes observations not yet finalized. On the day a record is replaced, the old value stays in the list, and it is replaced with the new value in the next day's tally. Records can also change retroactively when a station is relocated or statistics are recompiled.
Record highs, oldest first
Show the values and dates (top 20)
| Rank | Station | Record | Date set | Statistics began |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suttsu Hokkaido | 34.0°C | Aug 20, 1904 | 1884 |
| 2 | Katsuura Chiba | 34.9°C | Aug 23, 1924 | 1906 |
| 3 | Uwajima Ehime | 40.2°C | Jul 22, 1927 | 1922 |
| 4 | Muroran Hokkaido | 32.8°C | Aug 8, 1929 | 1923 |
| 5 | Miyako Iwate | 37.3°C | Jul 23, 1933 | 1883 |
| 6 | Yamagata Yamagata | 40.8°C | Jul 25, 1933 | 1889 |
| 7 | Fukui Fukui | 38.6°C | Jul 19, 1942 | 1897 |
| 8 | Cape Muroto Kochi | 35.0°C | Jul 30, 1942 | 1920 |
| 9 | Matsumoto Nagano | 38.5°C | Aug 2, 1942 | 1898 |
| 9 | Ueno Mie | 38.8°C | Aug 2, 1942 | 1937 |
| 11 | Karuizawa Nagano | 34.2°C | Jul 16, 1946 | 1925 |
| 12 | Kure Hiroshima | 37.8°C | Aug 20, 1948 | 1894 |
| 13 | Tanegashima Island Kagoshima | 35.9°C | Aug 8, 1951 | 1948 |
| 14 | Naze Kagoshima | 37.3°C | Jul 9, 1960 | 1896 |
| 15 | Hirado Nagasaki | 35.1°C | Aug 7, 1960 | 1940 |
| 16 | Kochi Kochi | 38.4°C | Aug 22, 1965 | 1886 |
| 17 | Miyakojima Island Okinawa | 35.3°C | Jul 16, 1971 | 1937 |
| 18 | Nishi-Okoppe Hokkaido | 36.4°C | Aug 3, 1978 | 1977 |
| 18 | Takinoue Hokkaido | 37.7°C | Aug 3, 1978 | 1977 |
| 18 | Kumaishi Hokkaido | 33.5°C | Aug 3, 1978 | 1977 |
Record lows, oldest first
Show the values and dates (top 20)
| Rank | Station | Record | Date set | Statistics began |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tokyo Tokyo | -9.2°C | Jan 13, 1876 | 1875 |
| 2 | Akita Akita | -24.6°C | Feb 5, 1888 | 1882 |
| 3 | Kyoto Kyoto | -11.9°C | Jan 16, 1891 | 1880 |
| 4 | Hakodate Hokkaido | -21.7°C | Jan 29, 1891 | 1872 |
| 4 | Yamagata Yamagata | -20.0°C | Jan 29, 1891 | 1889 |
| 6 | Fukushima Fukushima | -18.5°C | Feb 4, 1891 | 1889 |
| 7 | Choshi Chiba | -7.3°C | Feb 13, 1893 | 1887 |
| 8 | Kure Hiroshima | -7.1°C | Feb 22, 1895 | 1894 |
| 8 | Izuhara Nagasaki | -8.6°C | Feb 22, 1895 | 1886 |
| 10 | Matsumoto Nagano | -24.8°C | Jan 27, 1900 | 1898 |
| 11 | Shimonoseki Yamaguchi | -6.5°C | Feb 3, 1901 | 1883 |
| 12 | Naze Kagoshima | 3.1°C | Feb 12, 1901 | 1896 |
| 13 | Utsunomiya Tochigi | -14.8°C | Jan 24, 1902 | 1890 |
| 14 | Asahikawa Hokkaido | -41.0°C | Jan 25, 1902 | 1888 |
| 14 | Abashiri Hokkaido | -29.2°C | Jan 25, 1902 | 1889 |
| 16 | Obihiro Hokkaido | -38.2°C | Jan 26, 1902 | 1892 |
| 17 | Miyazaki Miyazaki | -7.5°C | Jan 26, 1904 | 1886 |
| 18 | Tsu Mie | -7.8°C | Jan 27, 1904 | 1889 |
| 18 | Fushiki Toyama | -12.1°C | Jan 27, 1904 | 1887 |
| 18 | Kanazawa Ishikawa | -9.7°C | Jan 27, 1904 | 1882 |
Decades in which the records were set
Record highs
Record lows
The numbers are the station records set in each decade. The 2 charts share an axis, so the bar lengths can be compared directly.
Lining up the number of records by decade shows that records on the high side cluster in recent decades and records on the low side in older decades. All this chart shows is the fact that the list is arranged that way.
The shape of the distribution also mixes in differences such as when stations were relocated and how long statistics have been kept. Please keep this in mind when comparing the numbers by decade. What to read from the chart is left to the reader.
Records that have stood the longest
The top all-time records across Japan, oldest first. This uses a different source from the daily list above, based on statistics as of November 1, 2026 (temperature records only: the record high and low, plus the highest daily minimum and the lowest daily maximum on record). Each line runs from the date the record was set to the present; vermilion marks the "highest" records and indigo the "lowest".
Show the records and the dates they were set
| Station | Record | Value | Date set | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo Tokyo | record low | -9.2°C | January 13, 1876 | 150 years as of today |
| Akita Akita | record low | -24.6°C | February 5, 1888 | 138 years as of today |
| Kyoto Kyoto | record low | -11.9°C | January 16, 1891 | 135 years as of today |
| Hakodate Hokkaido | record low | -21.7°C | January 29, 1891 | 135 years as of today |
| Yamagata Yamagata | record low | -20.0°C | January 29, 1891 | 135 years as of today |
| Fukushima Fukushima | record low | -18.5°C | February 4, 1891 | 135 years as of today |
| Nagano Nagano | lowest daily maximum on record | -6.8°C | February 12, 1893 | 133 years as of today |
| Niigata Niigata | lowest daily maximum on record | -3.9°C | February 12, 1893 | 133 years as of today |
| Choshi Chiba | record low | -7.3°C | February 13, 1893 | 133 years as of today |
| Kyoto Kyoto | lowest daily maximum on record | -0.2°C | February 21, 1895 | 131 years as of today |