Category
Snow and Ice
ActivitiesSnow and Ice
Japan’s reputation for the best snow on Earth is well earned — Niseko’s international powder scene, Nagano’s dense concentration of resorts, and Tohoku’s quieter, heavier-snowfall hills that never quite make the international lists. Our complete guide to skiing and snowboarding in Japan covers all of it, region by region, alongside dedicated coverage of backcountry touring, avalanche awareness, and the annual Japan Snow Guide. Browse below for resort deep dives, trip reports, and season-by-season updates.
Snowboarding
Getting Set Up Before Setting Out
Having your snowboard bindings set up correctly before hitting the slopes can make the difference between a good and great day of...
Adventure Travel
Above the Icy Sea
For the slightly less adventurous Hokkaido vacationer, a drift ice cruise off the north shore of the island provides stunning vie...
Scuba Diving
Beneath the Frozen Sea
Move over, Polar Bear Club, there is a new game in town—ice diving! Ice diving is not actually new, or a game, for that matter...
Heliskiing
The Air Up There: Heliskiing in Honshu
Heli-skiing operations are few and far between in Japan, and they certainly don’t come cheap. However, nothing can replace the eup...
Snowboarding
Rusutsu: My Home Mountain
Do you remember the mountain where you first learned to ride? Or the place you skied so much that you actually adopted it as your...
Japan Snow Guide
Niigata: The White Stuff
One day in 1986 the good people of Joetsu, a coastal city in Niigata, were deluged by 232 centimeters of snow—in one day. That’s ...
Snowshoeing
The Snowshoe Shuffle
The long, cold Japanese winter can seem a little daunting if you’re not an alpine person. Skiing and snowboarding certainly look ...
Trekking
Climbing Mt. Fuji on New Year’s Eve
Catching up with Jeff Jensen before his upcoming seventh New Year’s Day attempt to scale Mt. Fuji. For six consecutive years on...