TL;DR
The sun rises north of east in summer and south of east in winter, and the swing grows with latitude. Between 15 June and 15 December 2026, sunrise moves 53° along the horizon at Naha but 131° at Reykjavik. Sunset mirrors it in the west.
How to read the directions
Directions are compass bearings from true north: 90° is due east, 180° due south and 270° due west.1 We calculated where the centre of the sun crosses the sunrise and sunset line (0.833° below the horizon, allowing for refraction and the sun's size) on the 15th of each month of 2026.1 Japan's national observatory lists the same directions for Tokyo, Sapporo and Naha; ours matched to within half a degree.2
Europe: sunrise and sunset directions, north to south
| Station | Sunrise 15 Mar | Sunrise 15 Jun | Sunrise 15 Sep | Sunrise 15 Dec | Sunset 15 Jun | Sunset 15 Dec | Sunrise swing, Jun to Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reykjavik (Iceland) | 93° | 20° | 81° | 151° | 340° | 209° | 131° |
| Helsinki (Finland) | 93° | 35° | 82° | 140° | 325° | 220° | 105° |
| Oslo (Norway) | 93° | 35° | 83° | 140° | 325° | 220° | 105° |
| Tallinn (Estonia) | 93° | 37° | 83° | 139° | 323° | 221° | 102° |
| Stockholm (Sweden) | 93° | 37° | 83° | 139° | 323° | 221° | 102° |
| Riga (Latvia) | 93° | 42° | 83° | 135° | 318° | 225° | 93° |
| Dublin (Ireland) | 92° | 47° | 84° | 130° | 313° | 230° | 83° |
| Berlin (Germany) | 92° | 48° | 84° | 129° | 312° | 231° | 81° |
| Amsterdam (Netherlands) | 92° | 48° | 84° | 129° | 312° | 231° | 81° |
| Warsaw (Poland) | 92° | 48° | 84° | 129° | 312° | 231° | 81° |
| Brussels (Belgium) | 92° | 50° | 84° | 127° | 310° | 233° | 77° |
| Prague (Czechia) | 92° | 51° | 84° | 127° | 309° | 233° | 76° |
| Luxembourg (Luxembourg) | 92° | 51° | 84° | 126° | 309° | 234° | 75° |
| Paris (France) | 92° | 52° | 84° | 126° | 308° | 234° | 74° |
| Vienna (Austria) | 92° | 52° | 85° | 125° | 308° | 235° | 73° |
| Bratislava (Slovakia) | 92° | 52° | 85° | 125° | 308° | 235° | 73° |
| Budapest (Hungary) | 92° | 53° | 85° | 125° | 307° | 235° | 72° |
| Ljubljana (Slovenia) | 92° | 54° | 85° | 124° | 306° | 236° | 70° |
| Zagreb (Croatia) | 92° | 54° | 85° | 124° | 306° | 236° | 70° |
| Belgrade (Serbia) | 92° | 55° | 85° | 123° | 305° | 237° | 68° |
| Bucharest (Romania) | 92° | 55° | 85° | 123° | 305° | 237° | 68° |
| Sofia (Bulgaria) | 92° | 57° | 85° | 122° | 303° | 238° | 65° |
| Podgorica (Montenegro) | 92° | 57° | 85° | 121° | 303° | 239° | 64° |
| Rome (Italy) | 92° | 57° | 85° | 121° | 303° | 239° | 64° |
| Madrid (Spain) | 92° | 58° | 85° | 120° | 302° | 240° | 62° |
| Ankara (Türkiye) | 92° | 58° | 85° | 120° | 302° | 240° | 62° |
| Nicosia (Cyprus) | 92° | 60° | 86° | 118° | 300° | 242° | 58° |
Japan: sunrise and sunset directions, north to south
Show all 47 prefectures
| Station | Sunrise 15 Mar | Sunrise 15 Jun | Sunrise 15 Sep | Sunrise 15 Dec | Sunset 15 Jun | Sunset 15 Dec | Sunrise swing, Jun to Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sapporo (Hokkaido) | 92° | 56° | 85° | 122° | 304° | 238° | 66° |
| Aomori (Aomori) | 92° | 58° | 85° | 121° | 302° | 239° | 63° |
| Akita (Akita) | 92° | 58° | 85° | 120° | 302° | 240° | 62° |
| Morioka (Iwate) | 92° | 58° | 85° | 120° | 302° | 240° | 62° |
| Sendai (Miyagi) | 92° | 59° | 85° | 119° | 301° | 241° | 60° |
| Yamagata (Yamagata) | 92° | 59° | 85° | 119° | 301° | 241° | 60° |
| Niigata (Niigata) | 92° | 59° | 85° | 119° | 301° | 241° | 60° |
| Fukushima (Fukushima) | 92° | 59° | 85° | 119° | 301° | 241° | 60° |
| Toyama (Toyama) | 92° | 60° | 85° | 119° | 300° | 241° | 59° |
| Nagano (Nagano) | 92° | 60° | 85° | 119° | 300° | 241° | 59° |
| Kanazawa (Ishikawa) | 92° | 60° | 85° | 119° | 300° | 241° | 59° |
| Utsunomiya (Tochigi) | 92° | 60° | 85° | 119° | 300° | 241° | 59° |
| Maebashi (Gunma) | 92° | 60° | 85° | 119° | 300° | 241° | 59° |
| Mito (Ibaraki) | 92° | 60° | 85° | 119° | 300° | 241° | 59° |
| Fukui (Fukui) | 92° | 60° | 85° | 119° | 300° | 241° | 59° |
| Saitama (Saitama) | 92° | 60° | 85° | 118° | 300° | 242° | 58° |
| Tokyo (Tokyo) | 92° | 60° | 86° | 118° | 300° | 242° | 58° |
| Kofu (Yamanashi) | 92° | 60° | 86° | 118° | 300° | 242° | 58° |
| Chiba (Chiba) | 92° | 60° | 86° | 118° | 300° | 242° | 58° |
| Tottori (Tottori) | 92° | 60° | 86° | 118° | 300° | 242° | 58° |
| Matsue (Shimane) | 92° | 60° | 86° | 118° | 300° | 242° | 58° |
| Yokohama (Kanagawa) | 92° | 60° | 86° | 118° | 300° | 242° | 58° |
| Gifu (Gifu) | 92° | 60° | 86° | 118° | 300° | 242° | 58° |
| Nagoya (Aichi) | 92° | 60° | 86° | 118° | 300° | 242° | 58° |
| Kyoto (Kyoto) | 92° | 60° | 86° | 118° | 300° | 242° | 58° |
| Otsu (Shiga) | 92° | 60° | 86° | 118° | 300° | 242° | 58° |
| Shizuoka (Shizuoka) | 92° | 60° | 86° | 118° | 300° | 242° | 58° |
| Tsu (Mie) | 92° | 61° | 86° | 118° | 299° | 242° | 57° |
| Kobe (Hyogo) | 92° | 61° | 86° | 118° | 299° | 242° | 57° |
| Okayama (Okayama) | 92° | 61° | 86° | 118° | 299° | 242° | 57° |
| Osaka (Osaka) | 92° | 61° | 86° | 118° | 299° | 242° | 57° |
| Nara (Nara) | 92° | 61° | 86° | 118° | 299° | 242° | 57° |
| Hiroshima (Hiroshima) | 92° | 61° | 86° | 118° | 299° | 242° | 57° |
| Takamatsu (Kagawa) | 92° | 61° | 86° | 118° | 299° | 242° | 57° |
| Wakayama (Wakayama) | 92° | 61° | 86° | 118° | 299° | 242° | 57° |
| Yamaguchi (Yamaguchi) | 92° | 61° | 86° | 118° | 299° | 242° | 57° |
| Tokushima (Tokushima) | 92° | 61° | 86° | 118° | 299° | 242° | 57° |
| Matsuyama (Ehime) | 92° | 61° | 86° | 118° | 299° | 242° | 57° |
| Fukuoka (Fukuoka) | 92° | 61° | 86° | 118° | 299° | 242° | 57° |
| Kochi (Kochi) | 92° | 61° | 86° | 118° | 299° | 242° | 57° |
| Saga (Saga) | 92° | 61° | 86° | 118° | 299° | 242° | 57° |
| Oita (Oita) | 92° | 61° | 86° | 118° | 299° | 242° | 57° |
| Kumamoto (Kumamoto) | 92° | 61° | 86° | 117° | 299° | 243° | 56° |
| Nagasaki (Nagasaki) | 92° | 61° | 86° | 117° | 299° | 243° | 56° |
| Miyazaki (Miyazaki) | 92° | 62° | 86° | 117° | 298° | 243° | 55° |
| Kagoshima (Kagoshima) | 92° | 62° | 86° | 117° | 298° | 243° | 55° |
| Naha (Okinawa) | 92° | 63° | 86° | 116° | 297° | 244° | 53° |
How photographers use this
If you want the sun to rise behind a landmark, stand on the opposite side of it from the direction in the table. In June at Reykjavik, for example, sunrise is at 20°, roughly north-north-east; in December it is at 151°, roughly south-south-east.1
What these figures cannot tell you
- Hills and buildings. The directions are for a flat horizon; a ridge to the east delays the first light and moves it.
- Magnetic north. Bearings are from true north. A magnetic compass points slightly differently, by an amount that depends on where you are.
Key takeaways
- Between June and December 2026, sunrise swings 53° at Naha and 131° at Reykjavik.
- In summer the sun rises north of east and sets north of west; in winter, south of both.
- What we would skip: any rule of thumb for the swing that does not say which latitude it is for.
Sources
The directions are our own calculation with NOAA's published equations, checked against Japan's national observatory. See how we research.
- Method: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Solar Calculation Details (the NOAA Solar Calculator equations, based on Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms), Read it. Checked 24 September 2026. NOAA notes that the calculator is no longer actively maintained and that calculated times can differ from what is observed. We used the same equations for the daylight figures on our country and prefecture pages. Our calculations; NOAA does not endorse this site.
- Independent check: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 暦計算室, 日の出入り tables for Tokyo, Sapporo and Naha, 2026 (国立天文台ホームページより). Our calculation at NAOJ's coordinates matched its day length to 2 minutes and its sunrise and sunset directions to half a degree on the 15th of March, June, September and December. Checked 24 September 2026.
- Station positions: the weather stations our country and prefecture pages use: WMO 1991–2020 climate normals station list (NOAA NCEI) for Europe, and the Japan Meteorological Agency's station list for Japan.
Our calculation. Degrees rounded to the nearest whole degree, 15th of the month, 2026, at each weather station's position.