Solarposition.org

Kagoshima · Japan · 31.73° N · 130.77° E

Solar position in Kokubu-matsuki

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Kokubu-matsuki — computed for 31.73° N, 130.77° E, 0 m above sea level.

Sunrise today06:27104° ESE
Sunset today17:34256° WSW
Best panel angle28°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle37°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation46.2°
At solar noon, 12:00Open on the sun map

Sun in Kokubu-matsuki today

Sunday, 25 October 2026 · local time UTC+9

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn05:05sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn05:3312° below
Civil dawn06:026° below
Sunrise06:27104° ESE
Golden hour ends07:00sun 6° up
Solar noon12:0046.2° high
Golden hour starts17:01sun 6° up
Sunset17:34256° WSW
Civil dusk17:596° below
Nautical dusk18:2712° below
Astronomical dusk18:5618° below
Day length11 h 07 min

Sun path diagram for Kokubu-matsuki

Where the sun stands in the sky: the centre is straight overhead, the outer ring is the horizon. Numbers mark local clock hours.

15°30°45°60°75°N30°60°E120°150°S210°240°W300°330°June solstice678910111213141516171819EquinoxDecember solstice891011121314151617Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 81.7° at solar noon in Kokubu-matsuki; on the December solstice only 34.9°. Sunrise swings from 62° ENE in June to 117° ESE in December — a 56° arc along the horizon.

Sunrise, sunset and sun height by month

Values for the 21st of each month, local clock time including daylight saving time.

MonthSunriseSolar noonSunsetDay lengthNoon elevation
January07:1512:2817:4010 h 25 min38.4°
February06:5312:3018:0811 h 15 min47.7°
March06:2012:2418:2812 h 09 min58.5°
April05:4212:1518:4913 h 08 min70.1°
May05:1612:1319:1013 h 54 min78.4°
June05:1112:1819:2514 h 13 min81.7°
July05:2512:2319:2013 h 55 min78.7°
August05:4512:2018:5413 h 09 min70.4°
September06:0412:0918:1512 h 11 min59.0°
October06:2412:0117:3811 h 14 min47.6°
November06:4912:0217:1510 h 25 min38.4°
December07:1212:1417:1710 h 05 min34.9°

A year of daylight in Kokubu-matsuki

Each column is one day of 2026. Bright: sun above the horizon; soft: civil twilight; line: solar noon. Steps are daylight saving time changes.

00:0003:0006:0009:0012:0015:0018:0021:0000:00JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Best solar panel angle in Kokubu-matsuki

Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.

28°collects the most energy over a year: 1294 kWh per kWp.

37°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 28°Best worst-month 37°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°116990%1.872.3×
15°126798%2.401.8×
28° year-round best1294100%2.741.5×
30°1294100%2.781.5×
32° = latitude1292100%2.821.5×
37° off-grid best128299%2.911.4×
45°124997%3.001.4×
60°113688%3.041.6×
70°102779%2.961.8×
90°74958%2.572.4×

A fixed array in Kokubu-matsuki produces the most over a year at 28°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 37° it makes 2.91 kWh per kWp a day, 6% more than at 28°, and costs 1% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Kokubu-matsuki at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 28° (year-round best).

012345January: 2.98 (70°)3.0JanFebruary: 3.09 (70°)3.1FebMarch: 3.22 (70°)3.2MarApril: 2.85 (70°)2.8AprMay: 2.38 (70°)2.4MayJune: 1.86 (70°)1.9JunJuly: 2.23 (70°)2.2JulAugust: 2.72 (70°)2.7AugSeptember: 2.95 (70°)2.9SepOctober: 3.35 (70°)3.3OctNovember: 3.20 (70°)3.2NovDecember: 2.96 (70°)3.0Dec28°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 28°Mean temp.
January2.483.432.982.859.9 °C
February3.123.583.093.2810.9 °C
March4.103.753.223.8913.1 °C
April4.833.382.854.0816.7 °C
May5.002.882.383.8820.3 °C
June4.172.311.863.1023.3 °C
July5.222.782.233.8726.6 °C
August5.363.382.724.1927.8 °C
September4.433.622.953.8225.6 °C
October3.764.033.353.7021.6 °C
November2.833.783.203.1316.9 °C
December2.323.432.962.7412.1 °C
Year3.97 avg3.36 avg1027 kWh1294 kWh

Sizing example. To run a 1 kWh-per-day load through June on LiFePO4 batteries (charge controller, battery and inverter losses included) you need about 630 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 430 Wp at 28°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Kokubu-matsuki

Distance between rows of 2 m long panels (slope length) so that no row shades the next between 10:00 and 14:00 solar time on the winter solstice.

3.7 mrow pitch at 70°

3.3 mrow pitch at 28°

Row spacing calculator

How Kokubu-matsuki compares in Japan

Against the other 1,215 places in Japan with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

89thof 1,216 places in Japan for sunshine, shared: 3.97 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

+1%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Japan: 1,294 against 1,284 kWh per kWp.

−21 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Tokyo: 14 h 13 min against 14 h 35 min.

28°best year-round tilt here; across Japan it runs from 17° in Miyakojima to 41° in Kushiro.

Of the 1,216 places in Japan, Miyakojima gets the most sun (4.34 peak sun hours a day) and Wakkanai and one other place the least (3.17); Kokubu-matsuki ranks joint 89th. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.86 kWh a day here, against 2.14 kWh on average in Japan. The shortest day lasts 10 h 05 min, +20 min compared with Tokyo.

The sunniest places in Japan

Solar forecast for Kokubu-matsuki, next 48 hours

Expected output of 1 kWp at 70°, computed from the ICON-EU weather model of the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), Europe.

Loading the latest forecast…

Questions about the sun in Kokubu-matsuki

What is the best solar panel angle in Kokubu-matsuki?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Kokubu-matsuki is 28°, worth about 1294 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 37°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Kokubu-matsuki today?
On 25 October 2026 the sun rises at 06:27 and sets at 17:34 local time (UTC+9), giving 11 h 07 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 12:00.
How many peak sun hours does Kokubu-matsuki get?
On a flat surface 4.0 hours a day averaged over the year, from 2.3 in December to 5.4 in August. Panels tilted at 70° receive 2.3 sun hours a day in June.
How high does the sun get in Kokubu-matsuki?
At solar noon the sun stands 81.7° above the horizon on the June solstice and 34.9° on the December solstice.
Is Kokubu-matsuki a good place for solar panels?
With 4.0 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Kokubu-matsuki ranks joint 89th of 1,216 places in Japan for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (28°) makes about 1,294 kWh a year here, 1% more than the average place in Japan.

Places near Kokubu-matsuki

All places in Japan

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Sun positions: NREL Solar Position Algorithm. Climate: NASA POWER monthly climatology (NASA Langley Research Center). Forecast: Deutscher Wetterdienst, ICON-EU (CC BY 4.0), processed. Places: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Time zones: IANA. Sources and licences.