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The most popular image of the Japanese countryside is possibly
the stunning countryside in the spring, summer and fall months of the year -
endless greenery, cherry blossoms, mountains, temples and spectacular fall
foliage being the most prominent elements of the picture.
Nonetheless, one of
Japan’s most loved novels, written by Nobel Prize winner Yasunari Kawabata,
is called "Snow Country" (Yuki Guni), and was set in a small snowy
town. Many people seem to be almost surprised when they find out that Japan
has breathtaking winter scenes and, more importantly, some of the best
(and most unique) skiing and snowboarding experiences in the world.
As well as some of the heaviest snowfalls....
Snow walls at the side of the road!
One night of snow, January 2006
Until recently the Japanese winter sports scene has maybe
been one of the countries best kept secrets.... we're here to make that
scene accessible to everyone.
With resorts dotted all over the Japanese islands, from the northern island
of Hokkaido right down to the main southern island of Kyushu, almost all of
Japan’s inhabitants live within a couple of hours of a resort. Think of this
amazing fact taking into consideration the country’s size, and Japan is the
home to the largest number of ski and snowboard resorts in the world - with
over 500 resorts.
For more images of the incredible
snowfalls from January 2006, please view our "Snowy
Japan" Gallery.
Many of these "resorts" are small operations with just a few lifts and runs,
but Japan is home to a large number of large-scale world class ski and
snowboard resorts.
The incredible deep powder of Niseko (Hokkaido)...
The huge Shiga Kogen resort area of Nagano...
The quaint
traditional villages of Nozawa Onsen (Nagano) and Zao Onsen (Yamagata)...
The
"Olympic village" of Hakuba with it's superb selection of resorts and
facilities...
The popular Yuzawa Onsen resort region in southern Niigata
Prefecture, offering over twenty resorts within a short train ride of Tokyo...
...The variety and depth of choice open to snow-lovers in Japan is breathtaking
and difficult to match anywhere else on earth.
The Nagano
Winter Olympics of 1998 brought winter sports in Japan under the international
spotlight and word started to spread. As each year passes more foreigners
are travelling to Japan in
search of powder and the Japan experience - many coming back again and again.
But it wasn't always this way...
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