Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Seoul · December to February

Packing list for Japan and Korea in winter

Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Seoul from December to February: Seoul at 21°F (-6°C) in the morning and Tokyo at 50°F (10°C) in the afternoon on the same trip, heated trains that cook a down coat, floors that need socks without holes, and air so dry your lips crack by day two.

Open in Waystop

On a phone with Waystop installed, the button adds the list to your trip as a bag you can tick off. Otherwise copy it and paste it into Waystop’s Chat with “add this to my packing list”.

Checked October 10, 2026.

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What the weather is like

Seoul in January averages a high of 36°F (2°C) and a low of 21°F (-6°C), with cold snaps to 9°F (-13°C) and almost no rain. Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka run 48 to 50°F (9 to 10°C) by day and 34 to 37°F (1 to 3°C) at night, dry and often sunny, with a few days of snow in Kyoto. Interiors in all four cities are heated to 75°F (24°C) or more.

Leave at home

Three bulky sweatersOne Heattech layer, one fleece and the down coat cover it. Anything more comes off indoors and rides in the bag.
Lace-up bootsYou untie them twenty times a day at temples and restaurants, and a slip-on boot with grip does both jobs.
Cotton long johnsCotton holds sweat in the heated trains and stays damp; Heattech dries in an hour.

Buy when you land

Heattech from UniqloCheaper in Japan and Korea than at home and in every city center. In Japan the tax-free counter takes 10 percent off a purchase over ¥5,000 with your passport.
Face masks in a packAny drugstore sells a pack for a few hundred yen. They keep Seoul's wind off your face and your nose from drying out on the heated trains.
Hot canned drinks and oden from the convenience storeA hot corn soup from a vending machine on a cold platform is the point of a Japanese winter.

Worth knowing

Bath rules in one line: wash sitting down before you get in, soak, keep the towel out of the water, no photographs. A Korean jjimjilbang adds a clothed common floor with heated rooms and sleeping mats, so you can stay the night for the price of a cheap hostel.
Daylight ends before 5 p.m. in all four cities. Put temples and the Han river walk in the morning and the lit shopping streets after dark; Waystop's hours check will flag a temple placed after its 4:30 p.m. close.
Luggage forwarding moves a suitcase between Japanese hotels for about ¥2,500 so you carry a day bag; in Seoul, station lockers and a T-money card cover a day between check-out and the train.

Trips to pack this for

In the app

Never leave the charger in the hotel again.

Waystop keeps a list for each bag and each person. On the morning you change hotels it walks you through a quick pack-up check, and Chat can suggest items to add when you ask what to bring.

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Packing list for Japan and Korea in winter

Warmth
- A down coat that packs into its own bag (Seoul mornings sit at 23 to 21°F (-5 to -6°C) with cold snaps below -10; Tokyo rarely drops below freezing and the coat spends the afternoon in your bag)
- Heattech base layers, one set, buy more there (Uniqlo's Heattech costs around ¥2,000 a piece in Japan and around ₩20,000 in Korea, less than at home; Ultra Warm is for Seoul, Extra Warm for Kyoto)
- A hat and gloves that work a phone (The wind off the Han is the cold you remember from Seoul; the maps app wants bare fingers otherwise)
- Wool socks, two pairs a day for Seoul (Feet go first on frozen sidewalks; a dry pair at lunch changes the afternoon)
- A scarf you can pull over your face (Seoul at 14°F (-10°C) with wind, and it makes a pillow on the Shinkansen)

Shoes and floors
- Shoes that slip off and on, with grip (Temples, ryokan, tatami izakaya, Korean restaurants with floor seating and every ondol-heated home: shoes come off a dozen times a day, and Kyoto's temple steps ice over in the morning)
- Socks without holes, thicker than you think (Ondol floors are warm but the entrance hall is not; you will stand in socks on a dozen stone steps)
- Lined boots or thick insoles for Seoul (Thin soles lose the fight with 23°F (-5°C) sidewalks by midday)
- A day bag with room for the coat (Metros, department stores and cafes run at 75°F (24°C) or more; you strip the down coat at the door and need somewhere to put it)

Dry air and small comforts
- Lip balm and a rich moisturizer (Winter is the dry season in all four cities and Seoul sees barely 70 mm of rain in three months; indoor heating finishes the job)
- A small thermos (Convenience stores sell hot tea and coffee in bottles for around ¥150; a thermos keeps one warm through Fushimi Inari)
- Hand warmers, start with a few and buy the rest (Kairo in Japan and hot packs in Korea cost a couple of hundred yen or around a thousand won at any convenience store and last most of a day in a pocket)
- A small towel (Japanese bathrooms rarely have dryers, and it dries your hair after the onsen)

Onsen and bathhouse
- Swimwear, for the hotel pool only (Onsen and Korean jjimjilbang baths are naked and separated by sex; swimwear is for the pool and the rare mixed foot bath)
- A small modesty towel (Carried in front on the way to the bath, folded on your head in the water, never in the water)
- Cover bandages if you have small tattoos (Many onsen still refuse tattoos; for large ones, book a private bath or a tattoo-friendly onsen ahead)

From https://waystop.app/packing/japan-and-korea-winter

Packing list for Japan and Korea in winter

What the weather is like

Worth knowing

Trips to pack this for

4 days in Tokyo

3 days in Kyoto

3 days in Osaka

4 days in Seoul

Never leave the charger in the hotel again.