The best Japanese weather app and site

You’re going to want the best Japanese weather app available for checking the weather and staying prepared. The default weather app in iOS for iPhone is not the most helpful. This is especially true when you need to know when it’s going to rain, snow, etc.
I’ve tried a lot of different weather apps, but I settled on what I think is the best Japanese weather app around for both iPhone and Android. Let’s dive in and I’ll share the best sources for Japanese weather information.

There can be only one

If you’re using sites like weather.com or some other place, stop right now and check out the site I’m about to tell you.

JMA

The best weather site for Japan would be Japan’s very own Meteorological Agency (JMA). You can find the English version here:

http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/indexe.html
This has the most accurate and up to date data of any weather source for Japan. This is the data that you want to be able to access from an app on your phone.

I noticed a lot of times my friends and coworkers would often use the weather apps that came built-in to their phones, but the data was not always accurate.

Yahoo Tenki, the best Japanese weather app

Yahoo Japan sort of operates in another universe compared to the US Yahoo. All the apps are different and specific to the Japanese market. That’s where the weather app comes into play.

Yahoo Japan’s 天気 (てんき tenki) app is the best Japanese weather app for your smartphone. I’ve found it to be better at telling me when I need my umbrella than the stock Apple app and any others. Remember the JMA site I mentioned earlier? This app is powered by that data, so you can rest easy knowing you’re getting the best weather data for Japan.

Another really useful feature that I had wanted for a really long time was the radar. Other weather apps claim to offer radar, but those are usually only for North America or Europe. I hadn’t seen any non-Japanese weather apps be able to provide accurate radar. Edit: Years ago that was the case, but these days more weather apps both Japanese and non-Japanese have radar that works.

With Yahoo Japan’s app, you can check where there is precipitation and if you need to worry about it. This may not be much of an issue depending where you live, but in my case, I really want to know when I can expect rain or snow.
Did your parents ever tell you that nothing is ever free? Well, they were wrong. The Yahoo Tenki app is free for both iOS and Android!

Android:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.yahoo.android.weather.type1&hl=ja

iOS

In order to download the Yahoo Japan Tenki app, you will need a Japan iTunes/Apple account. If you don’t have one, you can make one for free by following my How to make a Japanese iTunes Account guide! 
Once you have a Japanese iTunes account, you’ll be able to download free apps or content from the iTunes/App store.

You can download Yahoo Japan’s Tenki app here:

https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/yahoo!-tian-qi-yu-yunno-jie/id521974902?mt=8

Final Thoughts on the best Japanese weather app

I love the Yahoo Tenki app and I would be at a serious disadvantage without it. I wish I could just use the built-in weather app on my phone, but it’s not enough. I hope everyone will try out the site and apps I recommended.

OK, your turn!

Did you know about the Yahoo Japan app already? Do you think you have a better app that serves you well? Let me know in the comments what weather sources you check for Japan and it they work out for you or not.