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Daylight hours in Kyoto

Kyoto gets 14h 30m of daylight on its longest day in June, and 9h 49m on its shortest in December — a difference of 4h 41m across the year.

How fast the days change

Around 17 March, Kyoto gains or loses about 2.2 minutes of daylight every day.

Enough to notice over a fortnight, though the seasons arrive more gently here than further from the equator.

Sunrise and sunset by month

On the 15th of each month, in Asia/Tokyo local time, daylight saving included.

Sunrise, sunset and day length by month.
MonthSunriseSunsetDaylightSolar noon
January 07:04 17:07 10h 03m 12:06
February 06:43 17:38 10h 56m 12:11
March 06:07 18:03 11h 56m 12:05
April 05:25 18:28 13h 04m 11:57
May 04:53 18:53 14h 00m 11:53
June 04:42 19:12 14h 30m 11:57
July 04:54 19:11 14h 18m 12:02
August 05:16 18:46 13h 29m 12:01
September 05:39 18:05 12h 25m 11:52
October 06:02 17:22 11h 20m 11:42
November 06:31 16:51 10h 21m 11:41
December 06:57 16:46 9h 49m 11:51

Solstices and equinoxes

DateSunriseSunsetDaylight
March equinox 20 Mar 06:01 18:08 12h 07m
June solstice 21 Jun 04:43 19:14 14h 31m
September equinox 22 Sep 05:44 17:54 12h 10m
December solstice 21 Dec 07:00 16:48 9h 48m

The equinoxes give almost exactly twelve hours of daylight everywhere on earth — "almost" because sunrise is defined by the sun's upper edge rather than its centre, and the atmosphere bends its light over the horizon before it has really arrived. Both lengthen the day by a few minutes.

Other cities in Japan

Assumptions

  • Sea-level horizon. Hills, mountains and buildings all delay sunrise and bring sunset forward, sometimes by a lot in a valley.
  • Standard refraction. Sunrise is taken at −0.833°, allowing for the sun's disc and average atmospheric bending. Unusual air conditions shift it by a minute or two.
  • Local clock time, with daylight saving applied from the IANA timezone database.

Full methodology, sources and known limitations