The Kigo 季語 Snow · 雪景色 · Watch the front move south

Now

Coming up

Places

PlanPick your weeksFind your reasonsCheck your dates

    Arrow keys to move · Enter to open · Esc to close

     EN 日本語

    Snow 雪景色

    Typical season

    JAN – MAR

    初雪や水仙の葉のたわむまで

    Kigo · 初雪 · hatsuyuki · winter

    First snow — just enough to bend the narcissus leaves.

    Matsuo Bashō · 17th century

    Where and when

    Created by Geolonia (https://geolonia.com/). Hokkaido24 NOV – 07 APRTohoku14 DEC – 23 MARHokuriku &Koshinetsu30 DEC – 13 MARTokai31 DEC – 03 MARKanto03 JAN – 15 MAR
    Earlier to later
    1. Hokkaido24 NOV – 07 APRAsahikawa · Sapporo
    2. Tohoku14 DEC – 23 MARAomori · Yamagata
    3. Hokuriku & Koshinetsu30 DEC – 13 MARTakada
    4. Tokai31 DEC – 03 MARTakayama
    5. Kanto03 JAN – 15 MARNikko

    The average run of unbroken snow cover of at least 1 cm at the lowland stations; ski areas and mountain villages hold snow for weeks longer at both ends. The Sea of Japan coast from Niigata to Tottori and the north of Kansai see snow on the ground on some days from mid-December to mid-March, not continuously · averages 1991–2020, Japan Meteorological Agency · a given year runs up to ten days either way

    How to time it

    Snow scenery needs snow that stays on the ground, not a day of snowfall. Mount Fuji's first snow cap, normally on 2 October, says nothing about the towns below. From the winter of 2026–27 the first-cap date comes from the weather agency's analysed snow depth instead of an observer's eyes, so new dates do not continue the old series.

    How long it lastsWarm days and rain melt it, and wind speeds the melting; fresh snow can follow. Check the snow on the ground, not the snowfall forecast.

    2 OctMount Fuji, first snow capThe normal date. Earliest on record 9 August 2008, latest 7 November 2024.

    26 Sep – 7 NovLast five years2021: 26 Sep · 2022: 30 Sep · 2023: 5 Oct · 2024: 7 Nov · 2025: 23 Oct.

    If you are earlyA first snow cap is a line in a record, not a reason to walk into winter mountains. Look at the analysed snow depth for the place itself.

    If you are lateThe Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, with its spring snow corridor, ran from 15 April to 30 November in 2026; the 2027 opening is not announced yet.

    Sources · checked 21 Sep 2026
    1. Mount Fuji first snow cap: record, normal, and the change of observation method
    2. First snow cap dates by year
    3. Notice of the new observation method, 31 July 2026
    4. JMA terms: snowfall, snow on the ground, snowmelt
    5. How the JMA snow map is made
    6. Shirakawa-go light-up 2027: dates, booking, rules
    7. Ginzan Onsen winter access notice, 15 January 2026
    8. Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route 2026 season
    1. JAN

      20 JAN – 25 FEB

      美山かやぶきの里

      A thatched hamlet under snow, lanterns on eight winter evenings

      Kyoto Google Maps

      Snow on the thatched roofs along a lane in Miyama Kayabuki-no-Sato, with wooded hills behindA snow-covered thatched roof at the entrance to the hamlet, with the village and hills behind

      Photos · 経済特区 · CC BY-SA 4.0

      20 JAN – 25 FEB · Nature · Snow

      Snow — Miyama Kayabuki-no-Sato 美山かやぶきの里

      Kyoto

      Snow on the thatched roofs along a lane in Miyama Kayabuki-no-Sato, with wooded hills behind
      A snow-covered thatched roof at the entrance to the hamlet, with the village and hills behind

      A farming hamlet in the mountains north of Kyoto where 39 of the 50 houses keep their thatched roofs, a national preservation district since 1993. Under snow, from late January through February, it is the old countryside intact. For the eight evenings of the winter lantern festival, 30 January – 6 February in 2027, the lanes and houses are lit from 17:00 to 19:00 with about 80 paper lanterns and 200 more.

      Dates
      20 JAN – 25 FEB
      Where
      KyotoGoogle Maps
      Survive
      During the lantern festival every car needs a parking reservation made in advance, on all days. Snow tyres are required on the road in. The winter fireworks of earlier years are not held.
      Holidays
      National Foundation Day, Emperor's Birthday · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels
      Access
      About 80 min by car from Kyoto. By public transport, the JR Sagano Line to Hiyoshi and then the Nantan city bus to Kita; check the last bus back before you go.
      Heritage
      Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings · 1993 南丹市美山町北 重要伝統的建造物群保存地区
      Source
      Official siteSnow page · checked 2026-09-20
      Photos
      2 photos · credits
      1. 経済特区 · CC BY-SA 4.0
      2. 経済特区 · CC BY-SA 4.0
    2. FEB

      04 FEB – 15 MAR

      網走の流氷

      Drift ice from the Amur, and an icebreaker that rides up onto it

      Hokkaido Google Maps

      Drift ice seen from the bow of the icebreaker Aurora off AbashiriThe icebreaker Aurora among the drift ice of the Sea of Okhotsk

      Photos · kkawamura · CC BY 4.0 · Lkj12344321 · CC BY-SA 4.0

      04 FEB – 15 MAR · Nature · Snow

      Snow — Abashiri drift ice 網走の流氷

      Hokkaido

      Drift ice seen from the bow of the icebreaker Aurora off Abashiri
      The icebreaker Aurora among the drift ice of the Sea of Okhotsk

      The Sea of Okhotsk is the southernmost sea in the northern hemisphere to freeze: ice born off the Amur estuary drifts about a thousand kilometres south and reaches this coast around the start of February. The icebreaker Aurora rides up onto the floes and breaks them under its own weight, on a cruise of about an hour.

      Dates
      04 FEB – 15 MAR
      Where
      HokkaidoGoogle Maps
      Survive
      Wind can push the ice offshore overnight, so allow two days. The normal dates for 1991–2020 are 22 Jan for the first ice on the horizon and 4 Feb for ice at the shore. A sailing with 15 bookings or fewer may be cancelled: reserve ahead.
      Holidays
      National Foundation Day, Emperor's Birthday · long weekend: expect full trains and hotels
      Access
      The Aurora sails from the Ryuhyo Kaido Abashiri roadside station, 10 min by bus from JR Abashiri Stn.
      Source
      Official siteSnow page · checked 2026-09-19
      Photos
      2 photos · credits
      1. kkawamura · CC BY 4.0
      2. Lkj12344321 · CC BY-SA 4.0

    3. —

      45 prefectures awaiting field notes

      Field research continues across the country. Updates published as verified.

    Add to which trip?