What to pack for October and November in Japan

October in Tokyo still feels like a mild season, and November does not. The Japan Meteorological Agency normals for 1991 to 2020 put the Tokyo October daily high at 22.0°C and the November high at 16.7°C. The month itself cools as it goes. Early October days normally reach the mid-20s, with a night around 17°C. By the last day of October the normal high is about 20°C and the night about 12°C.

Sapporo is a different packing list. The same normals put the Sapporo October high at 16.4°C and the November high at 8.7°C. Kyoto and Osaka sit with Tokyo, not with Sapporo. A night in Nikko or on Koyasan is colder than the city figure you used when you packed. The number on the Tokyo forecast is not the number on the mountain platform.

What earns a place in the bag

One waterproof layer, one warmer layer, and shoes you have already walked in. Early October can still bring the tail of typhoon season, so the rain jacket is not a pessimistic extra. Rain does not ruin a day if you are dry and the plan was never a chain of neighborhoods. By November the jacket is for the evening walk back to the hotel, not only for a storm.

• A light rain shell that packs flat.
• A sweater or fleece. Hotel rooms can run warmer than the street, so you want to be able to take the layer off.
• A scarf or a thin coat by mid-November in Tokyo, and from the start if you are going north.
• Walking shoes you trust. Temple grounds and station stairs will outvote a pair you have not worn.
• A compact umbrella. Convenience stores sell them, and they also run out when the rain has already started.

You do not need a winter coat for Tokyo in October. You do need one if the trip includes Hokkaido in November. People who pack for a single city and then add a mountain night spend the evening wishing the fleece were in the small bag instead of in the suitcase at the other hotel.

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The day cools after four

Mornings in late October are the part people underdress for. You leave the hotel warm from breakfast and you are cold on the first train. Wear the layer out the door. You can carry it by noon. A noon that felt like September, and a five o’clock that does not, is the ordinary shape of these weeks.

Indoor places run cool as well. A museum, a temple hall in socks, and a train after rain are all reasons the sweater stays in the day bag rather than at the hotel. Socks matter once the shoes come off. A hole is suddenly public.

The week the leaves turn is a separate calendar from the coat. You can be correctly dressed in Kyoto in October and still be early for the maples. Pack for the nights in the city where you will sleep, then add one warmer thing if any of those nights is up a mountain.