Here Are the 4 Best Places to Ski Japan’s Legendary Snow

Japanese snow is the stuff of legend. In an average winter, freezing Siberian winds scoop up moisture from the Sea of Japan and blanket the country with over 30 feet of cold, bone-dry powder — famous in the ski community as “Japow” — making it one of the snowiest places on the planet. There are around 450 ski resorts across an island nation roughly the size of Montana, and during good winters lodges such as Nozawa Onsen, Kiroro, and Geto Kogen can get over 900 inches. If you’ve never skied here, picture charging through beech forest, bouncing down pillow lines in chest-deep Japow as crystallized white smoke billows toward the sky, and you’ll soon grasp the appeal. But there’s more…