Skiing and snow in Japan

The winter monsoon brings repeated snowfalls rather than occasional big storms, so fresh snow is common throughout the core season. In Hokkaido, colder temperatures keep the snow particularly light and dry; in Honshu the snow is somewhat heavier but falls in huge quantities along the Japanese Alps and the mountains of Niigata and Tohoku.

Tree skiing in birch and beech forests is a hallmark of Japanese powder. Many resorts have opened designated gates to off-piste and tree areas, while others still restrict skiing outside the marked runs.

Niseko, on the slopes of Mount Annupuri facing the volcanic cone of Yōtei-zan, is Japan's best-known international resort. Its interconnected ski areas – Grand Hirafu, Hanazono, Niseko Village and Annupuri – share a combined lift pass, and the villages have a large choice of accommodation, restaurants and English-language services. Night skiing on floodlit slopes is popular.

Elsewhere in Hokkaido, Rusutsu is known for its tree runs, Furano for dry snow and a calmer atmosphere in the island's interior, and Kiroro and Sapporo's own resorts for easy access from the city. Hokkaido's resorts are reached via New Chitose Airport, with buses running directly to the slopes in winter.

Hakuba, in a valley beneath the Northern Alps, hosted the downhill and super-G races and the ski jumping of the 1998 Nagano Olympics. Around ten ski areas line the valley, with Happō-one the best known; the steep alpine terrain and views of peaks close to 3,000 metres set it apart from Hokkaido's gentler hills.

Nozawa Onsen, north of Nagano city, is a traditional hot-spring village with a ski area directly above it and a network of free public baths maintained by the villagers. Every 15 January it holds the Dōsojin fire festival, one of Japan's most spectacular winter festivals. Nearby Shiga Kōgen, in the Jōshin'etsu Kōgen National Park, is one of the largest and highest ski areas in Japan.

Zaō Onsen in Yamagata Prefecture is famous for its juhyō, 'snow monsters': conifers encased in rime and snow by the freezing winds, forming strange figures across the upper slopes. A ropeway takes visitors among them, and they are illuminated on some winter evenings. The village below has sulphurous, milky hot springs.

Tohoku has many other snowy areas: the Hakkōda mountains near Aomori are known for backcountry skiing in extremely deep snow, and Appi Kōgen in Iwate for long, well-groomed runs.

The mountains of Niigata receive some of the heaviest snowfall in Japan. Yuzawa, the setting of Kawabata's novel Snow Country, is reached from Tokyo by Jōetsu Shinkansen in about an hour and a half, making day trips possible; one resort even has its own Shinkansen station in winter. Myōkō Kōgen, near the Nagano border, is known for deep snow and an old hot-spring culture.

For Tokyo residents, Gunma's Minakami and Nagano's Karuizawa are other easily reached options.

A hot-spring bath is part of a Japanese ski day. Many ski villages grew up around hot springs – Nozawa, Zaō, Myōkō, Niseko – and inns and public bathhouses offer indoor and outdoor pools where snow falls on the water. Bathing etiquette applies: wash before entering, no swimwear, towels kept out of the water. Some baths still refuse people with tattoos, though more facilities now accept them or allow cover patches.

In Nagano, the snow monkeys of Jigokudani, which bathe in a hot spring in winter, are a popular excursion from the ski areas.

Rental equipment is widely available, though large sizes of boots can be scarce at smaller resorts. Luggage delivery services send skis and suitcases from the airport to the resort. Weekends and the New Year and Chinese New Year holidays are the busiest periods.

Avalanches are a real danger outside the groomed runs. Skiers going through backcountry gates should carry a transceiver, probe and shovel, check the local avalanche information and respect closures; in Niseko, a set of local rules governs access to the backcountry. Rescue outside the resort boundaries can be charged to the skier, and good insurance is essential.