Snowshoeing, Kaminokoike, Hokkaido. Image credit JNTO
Every year from around the end of November to early April, Japan’s ski resorts attract travellers from around the world. But what many outdoor adventure enthusiasts don’t know is that Japan’s icy winter temperatures bring a wide range of equally exciting outdoor pursuits.
If you’re not a skier, or you are indeed a regular on the slopes who is keen to try something new, here are some of Japan’s most unique adventure activities to experience in the country’s magical winter months.
Snowshoeing
If you didn’t think it would be possible to hike through Japan’s powder-snow alpine landscapes, you’re in for a treat. Equipped with snowshoes, which are essentially a much wider outer-extension for your existing hiking footwear, you can experience what it’s like to float on top of the snow-covered terrain. With its origins said to date back thousands of years, snowshoeing is a great way to explore Japan’s alpine regions without requiring the skill and effort for skiing and snowboarding.
In the Tohoku region, you can try an extra special snowshoeing experience around the coloured lakes of Goshikinuma Ponds. While the sightseeing trails around Goshikinuma’s five lakes are busy with visitors in the summer and autumn months, snowshoe trekking is ideal for taking advantage of the quiet snow season. You can find guided tours around the five coloured lakes 
which cater for beginner and experienced snowshoers.
Horseback riding
Not far from the city of Asahikawa on the northern island of Hokkaido, you’ll discover an unforgettable horseback adventure through an elegant broadleaf forest. While horseback trekking is usually reserved for the warmer months, you can experience what it’s like in the cooler months, venturing through the snowy forests in winter on a guided nature adventure .
Nature tours through the forest are available for people of all experience levels and are inclusive of an initial lesson to help you get the best out of your snowy horseback riding experience.
Horseback riding, Asahikawa, Hokkaido. Image by Deeper Japan
Ice-climbing
There aren’t many places in the world where it’s possible to climb a waterfall, but Japan is one of them, and it offers some of the most spectacular and scenic ice-climbing experiences on earth. From the mountainous regions of Hokkaido in the north to the main island of Honshu, winter’s icy temperatures cause cascading waterfalls to transform into a solid frozen state – almost as if time has stopped.
If you feel like rising to this unique challenge, Choji Falls in Nikko National Park won’t let you down. One of three spectacular waterfalls in Nikko’s Kirifuri Highlands, Choji Falls in the heart of winter offers a 25-metre wall of ice adjacent to the waterfall. With designated routes for beginners and intermediate-level climbers, guided excursions are available to scale this towering ice wall – and with incredible views at the top, it’s well worth the effort.
Ice-climbing, Nikko. Image by One Play-It
Drift ice walking
The result of a natural phenomenon that sees ice from the Amur River in Russia flowing southward across the Sea of Okhotsk. Utoro on the Shiretoko Peninsula in northeastern Hokkaido is a popular place to witness the sheets of ice gather along the shores in mid-winter. But if you’re keen for a more exciting way to experience the drift ice, from late January to early March you can join a drift ice walk.
Led by experienced local tour guides, you’ll put on a rubber dry suit to keep your body warm and dry before traversing across 1 kilometre of drift ice gathered at the shore. In the comfort and safety of a dry suit, you can even jump in the water and float along with the ice floes for a truly memorable experience.
Shiretoko drift ice walk, Hokkaido. Image by JNTO
Ice fishing
For a relaxed winter outdoor recreation experience in Japan, why not try your hand at ice fishing which takes place on many of Japan’s frozen lakes in winter. Through a hole cut in the frozen surface, you’ll place your reel and bait and wait for the fish to bite. Rods, reels, bait and basic tackle kits are available for rent at most ice fishing locations in Japan.
Hokkaido’s Lake Abashiri and Lake Akan are popular ice-fishing locations, and you can also visit Nagano’s Lake Suwa for a unique and comfortable ice-fishing experience from a heated dome boat.
Fat bike snow cycling
Fat biking is becoming an increasingly popular activity in Japan offering another fun and exciting way to enjoy and explore the country’s snowy landscapes in winter. As the name suggests, a fat bike is essentially a mountain bike fitted with fat tires so they can easily ride across soft terrain like sand and snow.
Fat bike tours are available all over Japan, with highlights including rides through Hokkaido’s rugged wilderness, along its icy shorelines in view of the Sea of Okhotsk’s famous drift ice, and adventures across the frozen surface of Lake Abashiri. Meanwhile, during winter in Nagano, you’ll find guided tours through forests and across ski slopes and even nighttime excursions under the cold starry skies.
Fat biking in Nagano. Image by Togari Snowbike Park
For more information, please contact:
James Cooley | james@thelucidagency.com.au | +61 401 316 701
