Traditional Snow-Country Experience in Japan
While there are no bike tours available (just yet) for the winter months, traditional Japanese kanjiki (snow-shoes) and cross-country skis are an excellent way to travel in Sakae village. Sakae is an ideal area for those who want to get a taste of rural winter life in Japan, but don't want to leave behind the comforts of a hot-bath and fresh food in order to venture out into the more extreme back-country.
Description of Japan Snow Country Tour
The yukiguni (snow country) is famous in Japan for its unique traditions, lifestyle, and hardships. Our base is situated in Sakae Village - the snowiest of Japan's snow-country, where fire hydrants are 3 meters high and houses have a front door on the second floor!
Our winter snow-country experience trips will have you making your own bamboo kanjiki snow-shoes with the help of the locals, and then using them to trek through small villages and forests on relatively even ground. Your day will end at a traditional Japanese inn or, for the more adventurous, we will teach you to build your own snow-cave or igloo which will be your home for the night... of course, you will still be within walking distance of a hot-spring bath and a cozy Japanese pub/restaurant.
Other highlights of our longer Japan Snow Country Experiences include a trip into the foreboding Akiyamago Valley - famous throughout Japan for its remoteness and harsh winters. In fact, entire villages have been known to vanish over a single winter.
If the weather agrees, you will have an opportunity to participate in one of the most time-honored traditions of Northern Nagano - yuki-oroshi (shoveling snow from the roofs). This is also a very much needed public service. There is so much snow here that unless we shovel it from our roof regularly, the house is in danger of collapsing. This is increasingly becoming a problem as the population ages and young people are forced to move to larger cities for work. Someone needs to shovel the rooves.
Of course, helping the locals is one of the best ways to get to meet them. We will be there to help facilitate conversation and work our mojo which has been known to get our guests invited for dinner and lots of hot sake around the irori (traditional fire-pit found in many old-style Japanese homes).
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Who is the Japan Snow Country Tour For?
This is an extremely flexible tour, fit to the needs and desires of the participants. Most people who join us for a Traditional Snow-Country Experience are either people who have come to Tokyo for business with a spare weekend before returning home, or folks who have come to one of Nagano's many excellent ski resorts, but want a break from the crowds to finally experience some of the real small-town Japan.
This is not a winter wilderness experience, though it includes as much nature and nature study as you are willing to accept. You will always be within an hours drive from "civilization", and your lodging will be walking distance from a hot bath and dinner. Whether you opt to build and sleep in your own snow-cave, or snuggle into a cozy futon in a traditional Japanese inn, one thing you do not have to worry about is an anavalanche! And, while we personally love snow-shoeing in the back-country of Japan's alps, we also love to snow-shoe along less challenging terrain, moving from one small village to another.
Please join us!!!
Price & Dates
Itineraries vary depending on weather, the number of days you have free, and other festivals and community events that may coincide with your trip. Please contact us with details of when and how many days you want to spend in the Snow Country of Japan.
Our trips include anything you will need to walk and survive in the Northern Nagano Snow Country for a few days - including warm gear, clothing, and a shovel to dig your snow-cave, as well as traditional meals, hot-spring baths, and an opportunity to make and learn about foods traditionally preserved and eaten in the cold winter months.