Last and first frost dates in Kyoto

When is the last frost in Kyoto?

The last frost in Kyoto usually comes around 22 March: that is the median of 2016–2025, so in about half of those years the last night at or below 0 °C came later. Hardy crops start before it and frost-tender ones only after it: in the table below arugula can go into open ground from 1 March, while corn waits until 2 April. The first autumn frost follows around 7 December, about 260 days later: harvest or cover frost-tender crops before then.

When to sow and plant

Planting out: a week after the last frost once the soil is warm enough for the crop; frost-hardy crops three weeks before it; an unheated greenhouse three weeks earlier. Seedlings are sown so they are ready on that day. Each window starts on the Greenly calendar date and ends on the last day that still leaves the crop’s days to harvest (from its card) before the average first autumn frost, plus six weeks of picking for crops harvested over weeks (tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, courgettes, pumpkins, watermelons, beans) — our rule; earlier in the window is safer.

When the soil warms up in Kyoto

The day the top 7 cm of soil first averages each temperature over a week, median of 2016–2025 (ERA5 via Open-Meteo). The soil reaches 10 °C 3 days after the last spring frost and 15 °C 30 days after it.

Frost dates near Kyoto

Of the nearest cities on our list, the last spring frost ends earliest in Hamamatsu (24 February) and latest in Hiroshima (9 April).

Seeds, seedlings and markets in Kyoto

Within 15 km of Kyoto OpenStreetMap lists 16 garden centres, 1 farm-supply shop, 1 plant nursery, 6 markets and 19 farm shops (collected 28 October 2026). The nearest garden centre to the city centre is (thisis)shizen, 1 km away.

• (thisis)shizen — garden centre
  烏丸通 586-2 · Mon–Sun 10:00–19:00 · 1 km
• Nishiki Market — market
  錦小路通 · Mon–Sun, public holidays 10:00–18:00+ · 1 km · kyoto-nishiki.or.jp
• 前田尚吾さんの直売所 — farm shop
  08:30–18:30 · 10 km · city.kyoto.lg.jp
• まつおえんげい — garden centre
  Mon–Sun 10:00–17:00; Wed closed; Thu closed · 11 km · matsuoengei.co.jp
• 鷹峯メルカート — market
  Sun 10:00–15:00 · 8 km
• 岩崎農園 — farm shop
  Mar–Apr · 14 km

• Where to buy seeds and seedlings in Kyoto

Places: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Weather in Kyoto by month

Average weather in Kyoto over 2016–2025: the warmest month is August. Months that average 20 °C or more by day: May–October (22–32.4 °C). Months that average 30 °C or more by day: July (30.8 °C) and August (32.4 °C). Nights average below 0 °C in January (-0.5 °C). About 1766 mm of rain falls in a year, on 134 days; June is the wettest month (254 mm) and January the driest (54 mm).

Average of the daily highs and lows, rain per month and days with at least 1 mm (ERA5 via Open-Meteo, the same grid cell as the frost dates).

Planted in autumn

From a month before the first autumn frost, so the roots grow before winter, to the late-planting limit on each crop’s page (about two weeks before the ground freezes, by ten years of weather).