During the early 90's when snowboarding first appeared in Japan, the few boarders taking to the slopes were looked on at with amusement by the skiers.

What a difference a few years can make.

At first, resorts where you could snowboard were few and far between, but that situation has now been almost completely reversed, and there are presently only a minority of resorts remaining that do not allow snowboarders on their slopes. These resorts now use their "skiers-only" policy to try to attract families and those traditionalist skiers who may have not yet accepted snowboarding. The fact is, however, that every year a few more of the remaining "no snowboarders" resorts relax their policies.

The number of snowboarders in Japan is probably that of skiers and at some resorts snowboards outnumber skies.  Many resorts now prepare special Snowboard Parks complete with halfpipes, quarter pipes and other facilities for snowboarders.