Hokkaido Trivia – Change in Weather from Summer to Autumn

It was so chilly this morning short sleeve T-shirt was certainly not enough to keep me warm!  I’m pretty sure I’ll be hearing from my friends here about setting up their heater very soon.

Hokkaido’s summer is short.  Rooms need to be heated up in the morning until sometime in early May, and by September we’re already talking about how chilly it is in the morning.

Summer is usually (or I should say it in past tense!) sunny and breezy.  But the past couple of years Hokkaido has also suffered from the global warming.  Even here in Abashiri in the northeast coastlines, the temperature hiked to over 30 degrees centigrade!  Although these HOT days only last for one or two weeks at the most, it’s hard for us here because most of the houses aren’t equipped with air conditioners.  I even had to wrap my neck with a refrigerant in addition to electric fans! 

But it’s all until mid-August.  We all pat each other and comfort ourselves that the “abominable” (Hokkaido standard) heat is only until the end of “obon” ie, August 16th which is the last day of the mid-summer Buddhist festival.  And sure enough, the temperature does start dropping after the family reunion of the obon festival.

So, when you visit Hokkaido in summer, don’t be too sure of the warm weather to enjoy your activities!

Photos of leaves turning red in late Autumn.

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