Snow Country

Snow country refers to areas in Japan characterized by heavy, long-lasting snowfalls.

The snow country is located on the north side of Japan's main island, Honshu and the area encompassed by the Japanese Alps. It also includes Sado Island and Hokkaido. Blizzards become torential as they turn from flurries to a full on white outs in a matter of seconds. 

Areas in the snow country have to struggle with the mass exodus of the snow that falls so they can keep the prefectures running. Snow makes a lot of daily tasks hard to do, like driving to work or school. Schools can be cancelled for weeks on account of the massive amounts of snow falling. Frequently snow is so deep in some places that buildings have a special entrance on their second story; people must remove snow from their roofs to prevent its weight from crushing their homes, and special care is taken to protect trees from the snow's weight. In some towns, people used to tunnel paths to one another's homes, and streets were lined with covered sidewalks to ensure that people could get around. Today in areas where temperatures are high enough to make it practical, many roads are equipped with sprinklers using warm ground water to keep them passable by melting the snow.

The heavy snowfalls of Japan's snow country are caused by moisture-laden clouds bumping up against the mountains along the backbone of Honshu and releasing their moisture under the influence of easterly winds blowing off the continent or down from Siberia. As a result, the region includes some of the world's snowiest spots at the same latitudes, many localities are also frequently visited by avalanches. The most recent record snows were brought by the blizzards of December 2005–February 2006, when well over 3 meters (almost 10 feet) of snow accumulated in many rural areas.

A more positive thing about Japan's abundance of snow is that the Japanese participate in amazing snow sculpting contests and festivals. One held in Sapporo, Japan brings in nearly 2 million people from all around the world. The Sapporo Snow Festival, one of Japan's largest winter events, has attractions that line Odori Park, the grounds at Community Dome Tsudome, and the main street in Susukino.

For one weeks in February, these unique statues and sculptures (both large and small) turn Sapporo into a winter dreamland of crystal-like ice and white snow.