Winter Sports

Japan is a very mountainous country and so has plenty of opportunities for winter sports, especially in the Central Highlands and Hokkaido.

Season

The regular season starts in late December and ends in late March or early April. Peak season is early February. There is also a smaller peak over Christmas and New Year. Package tours within Honshu generally don't start until the weekend before Christmas and end some time between the March long weekend and the first weekend in April. An extended season does exist in some areas. Pre-season skiing can begin as early as late November and many resorts list May 5 as the final day of their spring skiing season. When skiing during either shoulder season, expect a reduction in the number of lanes open to the public due to snow conditions and private lane allotments. There are no summer glaciers or summer snowfields in Japan. Many resorts hold events during the year especially at the start and end of the season for example, fireworks on the last night of the open season.

Japanese Mountains, Snow, and Weather

MOUNTAINS

SNOW If you talk about skiing in Japan, you will often hear the phrase, "Japanese snow is very wet." What this means is that thanks to mild winters and all the humidity causing sea water around, the microstructure of Japanese snow has a high moisture content. Think the big clumps of falling snow you would use to make a snowman. Anyone who has skied within sight of an ocean or even the North American Great Lakes will recognize this snow type. Wet snow is a mixed blessing. It comes in huge quantities and gives Japanese mountains their high powder-day count. But this form of snow also comes with a high number of rainy days and an extended slush-skiing season in the spring. The snow itself degrades (ruts) more easily as well so the nice even surfaces of groomed runs don't stay that way for as long.

WEATHER

Hakuba in Nagano was where the skiing events for the 1998 Nagano Olympics were held. There's often a yearly ski trip in January.

Snowboarding

Also lots in Nagano. Someone please expand this article.