Winter in Japan
Travel to Japan in winter, months of holidays and light festivals, time for delicious food and snow season
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Japan winter festivals
Winter in Japan is full of festivals and other festive events, particularly during Hatsumode, at the beginning of a new year, when japanese return to their hometowns to pray at temples and shrines.
This period is, along with summer’s Obon and spring’s “Golden Week”, one of the busiest periods of the year and you might have problems on finding train tickets due to the high number of travellers.
Winter in Japan also means hundreds of thousands of illuminations, particularly around Christmas, when all the cities compete with each other with the best light decorations on the streets.
But there are also amazing winter illuminations outside the big cities, like at tematic parks or other natural places that bloom with artificial flowers, beautiful as much as spring’s blooming.
冬もみぢ
端山の草木
禽啼かず
winter red leaves
of plants at foothills
birds don’t make a sound
Japan winter things to do
Japanese snow is the absolute protagonist of winter in Japan. It has a consistency that you can only find here, so fluffy that has gained the nickname of “Powder Snow”.
This type of snow is perfect for ski and snowboard activities, and Hokkaido, the northernmost region of Japan, receives hundreds of thousands of snow lovers from all around the world.
The majority of snow resorts also feature onsen hot springs, but in winter there are many other beautiful places to get away from the cold and warm your body inside a hot bath.
Hot spring towns are spread all around Japan and in winter its a pleasure to do onsen hopping from a hot spring to another. Particularly beautiful are the rotenburo, open air baths, with snow all around you.
Plum trees bloom at the end of winter in Japan, announcing the arrive of spring. In some areas, like the cold Hokkaido, blooming can delay until mid april, allowing the combined blooming of cherry and plum trees.
Those plum trees, ume in japanese, usually have white flowers and are really appreciated in Japan for their fruits, the famous healthy super-food umeboshi, widely used inside the japanese diet.
道あるに
雪の中行く
童かな
although there is a road
the child walks
in the snow
Japan winter food
With temperatures going down, the best food to eat in Japan during winter are hot pot, boiling ramens and other steamed foods.
埋火や
壁には客の
影法師
banked fire
the shadow of a guest
is on the wall
Japan winter weather
Winter is obviously the coldest season in Japan, but it has also great features like the powder snow and a clear sky, perfect for landscape photographers.
いざ行かむ
雪見にころぶ
所まで
let’s go out
to see the snow
where we slip and fall