Winter in Japan

Japan’s ski season runs from December to early April, with January and February the dependable months. A spine of mountains splits the country in two: the Sea of Japan side takes some of the heaviest snowfall of any inhabited place on earth, while Tokyo and Kyoto stay dry, cold and clear. The one stretch to plan around is New Year — roughly 29 December to 3 January, when the country genuinely closes and demand for transport and rooms is exceptional.

Why does Japan have two different winters?

A spine of mountains runs down the middle of the country, and it splits the season in half. Cold air off the continent picks up moisture crossing the Sea of Japan, meets that range and unloads: the western side takes some of the heaviest snowfall of any inhabited place on earth. The Pacific side gets the same air after it has been wrung dry — cold, still and cloudless.

That is how one country offers both Niseko and a snowless January afternoon in Kyoto. Tokyo and Kyoto in winter are dry, cold and clear, with the best visibility of the year — Fuji is far more often visible from Tokyo in January than in July — and, outside the New Year week, the thinnest crowds of any season.

Where does it actually snow in Japan?

• Niseko, Hokkaido — the powder that built the reputation, and the most international of the resorts.
• Hakuba, Nagano — a valley of linked resorts in the Northern Alps, about ninety minutes from the shinkansen at Nagano.
• Nozawa Onsen, Nagano — a working hot-spring village with a ski hill above it, and free public baths in the streets below.

The season runs roughly December to early April, with January and February the dependable months.

What else is there to do in winter?

Winter is onsen weather, and an outdoor bath with snow coming down is reason enough for the trip on its own. At Jigokudani in Nagano the macaques use one, which is the photograph everybody has seen. Early February brings the Sapporo Snow Festival, a week of monumental snow and ice sculpture through Odori Park. And the cities keep their illuminations lit into February, so the evenings are not the dead hours they might be elsewhere in the cold.

Which winter dates matter for planning?

Roughly 29 December to 3 January is the one stretch of the year when Japan genuinely closes. Independent restaurants, small shops, museums and clinics shut, sometimes for a full week; convenience stores, chain restaurants and the trains run throughout. Once it is over, mid-January through February is the cheapest and quietest window in the calendar. The January sumo tournament in Tokyo falls right inside it — one of the few big fixtures in an otherwise quiet month.

What should you pack for a Japanese winter?

Buildings are heated but rarely centrally, so layers you can shed indoors beat one heavy coat. Take waterproof shoes with some grip for the snow regions. And buy a box of kairo, the adhesive heat pads, from any convenience store on the first day.