It’s mid January now. I’ve heard it has snowed in many areas of Japan already. One of the good things about Japan is that it has distinct seasons. Now it is winter and this means Skiing and Snowboarding.

I know that some British people have not experienced skiing or snowboarding, simply because there are very few venues in the UK. So may be going skiing would be something of an adventure.

As you may know, I was born and brought up in Yamagata which is located in the northern part of Japan, where there are very famous mountains for skiing, called ‘ZAO’. My father would take me to ZAO nearly every weekend when I was a child. At that time, snowboarding was not popular, so I did skiing with him. The snow there is good, like powder, especially in January and the beginning of February.

It is said that the northern part of Japan is good for skiing and snowboarding. But there are good skiing venues in the central region as well. I recommend ‘shiga kogen’, which is located in Nagano prefecture. Gifu prefecture also has a lot of nice sites. But basically two-thirds of Japan is covered with mountains. Therefore it should not be difficult to find a skiing venue around your area.

But if you go snowboarding, then be careful. Actually, it’s a dangerous sport. In fact, I broke my right wrist several seasons ago, and so I had to use my left hand to write at work. As I am a right-handed person, this was a kind of torture!