Winter in Japan, Snow and Ski
Ski Slopes and Powder Snow in Japan's Central and Northern Regions
Japan offers excellent Winter Snow Sports, slopes for skiing, enthusiastic apres-snow life, wonderful scenery, and to get you there - the fabulous bullet train.
With global warming in Europe making good skiing conditions doubtful this season, this could be the year that snow-lovers find Japan perfect for skiing and snowboarding, as it offers guaranteed powder snow on ski slopes that are regarded as among the best in the world.
Japan Winter Sports – Ski Slopes and Powder Snow
Over 75% of Japan’s land area is composed of mountains and for at least 4 months every year the mountains in the central highlands and northern regions of Japan are blanketed with snow, a result of the Siberian air mass which governs this area, the coldest air mass in the world. Good skiing in top resorts can be had December through April.
Japan's Winter Olympics 1972 and 1998
Despite hosting the Winter Olympics in 1972 and again in 1998, and the attendant publicity, outside Asia, the country’s brilliant winter sports conditions and facilities are hardly known. This makes it the perfect destination for those wanting to discover something new.
Japan - no longer expensive
Once considered a very expensive country for vacationers, Japan is now, due to the low value of the yen, a great value destination with a wide variety of affordable accommodation, transport and dining options. For instance, a MacDonald’s hamburger will now cost just €0.30 and good 3-star accommodation averages just €95.
Japan, - Tradition and Culture, sumo, geisha and Mr. Fuji
And don’t forget, when you’ve finished skiing there are Japanese cultural charms to enjoy, not just the traditional ones like geisha, sumo, Japanese gardens, temples and Mt. Fuji, but some of the world’s must futuristic and technologically advanced cities – like Tokyo, regarded as one of the world’s leading cities in food, fashion and pop trends.
The Japanese Alps - a range that is divided into Northern, Central and Southern sectors - runs down the central part of Honshu, the largest of the 4 Japanese islands. Many peaks are over 2,500 meters high and are completely snow-covered during the winter.
Japan Winter Sports - Transport and Bullet Train
The excellent rail and highway network from Kanto, Chubu and Kinki (with Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka at their centres) make these the most popular for winter sport. A skier can board a bullet train on a brisk and sunny day in Tokyo, and in just over 1 hour be at a resort in Niigata or Nagano where there will be 2 to 4 meters of snow. Depending on the region and prevailing weather conditions, it is usually possible to ski from December through April.
A large number of ski grounds are located along the Joetsu line, which terminates in Tokyo and most of the major winter sports areas on the island of Honshu are easily accessible by railway and are outfitted with chair-lifts and night illumination. Zao is reputed to be the best equipped ski area in the Tokoku region and is famous for the ice-covered pine trees that make for stunning winter scenery.
Japan in Winter, Who Goes There
Most visitors to Japan still come from the UK but France, Portugal, Sweden and Finland showed big increases in the number of their citizens travelling (Finland showed an amazing increase of 18.2% in 2006).
Japan as Winter Holiday Destination
Forget Disneyland - today’s children demand holidays in the home of Playstation, Nintenedo, Pokemon, Dragonball Z, and the Transformers. Japan has all of these.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
