LIGHT SHOW

Visit the hot spring towns of Northern Japan as festivals light up their snow-blanketed slopes

Winter in Northern Honshu comes with a lot of snow. So much snow, festivals have long been held to celebrate its presence and, often surreal, beauty. Heavy snowfall blankets much of inland Tohoku and its volcanic mountains draw people in for traditional hot springs and ski resorts. Mount Zao lies on the border of Yamagata and Miyagi. This whole area, along with mountain resorts such as Zao Sumikawa Snow Park, has become famous for its annual ‘snow monster’ phenomenon. The trees of the mountain’s summit and slopes become entirely encased in snow and ice at this time with heavy snowfall and freezing winds giving them their monster-like appearance.

While these snow monsters are a sight to behold at any time, they’re at their most dramatic after dark with illuminations lighting up the slopes during peak ski season. The nearby hot spring town, Aone Onsen, also marks this snow-blanketed time of year. The one-night-only Aone Onsen Snow Illumination, which takes place in February, sees people from the community make shrines known as hokora out of ice before filling them with candles to be lit on the night.

The luxury ryokan Daikon no Hana

Onsen provides a convenient base for exploration of the Zao region. From Zao, travel to KAI Tsugaru, a hot spring hotel by Hoshino Resorts in Aomori. This luxury property is a short journey from Hirosaki, which is home to another of Honshu’s great winter celebrations. Hirosaki Snow Festival sees hundreds of traditional lanterns, igloos and other sculptures made out of ice light up the snow-covered grounds of Hirosaki Castle. The 2020 edition is planned for February, and throughout all of the same month, KAI Tsugaru is hosting a Kamakura (Japanese igloo) experience with food, drink and atmospheric lanterns.