Climate, time difference, language
Climate
Climate Throughout Kyoto Prefecture
- The average annual temperature is 5.6°C. Annual rainfall is 545.4 mm. The temperature goes as high as 39.8°C, and as low as -9.4°C.
- Summers are hot. Winters are cold. There are four distinct seasons. The atmosphere in the cities and towns differs greatly depending on the season of the year.
- The rainy season is from June to July, when it rains continuously.
Dress
Light clothing with short sleeves is fine for summertime. Since the air conditioning will be on indoors you will need to be careful that your body does not get chilled. The nights are as humid as the days, and just about as hot also. When going outdoors during the winter you will need a warm coat. However, it is heated indoors. Gloves are needed when riding a bicycle. Some of the houses in the town of Kyoto are not air conditioned; and, even if they do have air conditioning, they can be quite drafty so the air conditioning doesn't work very well.
Time Difference
Lunch Time in Other Countries and the Time of Day in Kyoto
- When it's lunchtime in New Zealand (3 hours ahead), it is about time for working people in Kyoto to go to their jobs.
- When it's lunchtime in England (9 hours behind), it is about time for children in Kyoto to go to bed.
- Lunchtime on the west coast of the United States (18 hours behind), is around the time that they do their early morning cleaning at the temples in Kyoto.
Table of Time Differences
| state/city | Alaska | Texas | Buenos Aires | Greenwich | Bagdad | Astana | Kyoto | Auckland |
| country | U.S.A. | U.S.A. | Argentine Republic | England | Iraq | Republic of Kazakhstan | Japan | New Zealand |
| time differences | -18 | -15 | -12 | -9 | -6 | -3 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 3 | 6 | |
| 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 3 | 6 | 9 | |
| 15 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | |
| 18 | 21 | 24 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 | |
| 21 | 24 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | |
| 24 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | |
| 3 | 6 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 21 | 24 | |
| 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 3 |
Language
You will be able to use English at the airports and major hotels. And since the people who work at the shops in Kyoto are used to dealing with foreign customers, you should be able to communicate through gestures or other such means. More and more street signs, information boards, store signs and menus are written with the alphabet. In the Japanese language there are three types of writing: katakana and hiragana (both of which are syllabaries), and kanji (Chinese characters). There are also two ways of writing Japanese: from the right side of the page downwards, working toward the left; and from left to right, working downwards. People in Kyoto speak with a unique accent. Even if you study Japanese (standard Japanese) it can sometimes be difficult to understand them.
