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Snow Country (Japan)
refers to areas in Japan characterized by heavy, long-lasting snowfalls. The rather poetic can refer to any place with heavy or deep snows and is generally understood as a reference to the Sea of Japan side of Honshū (Japan's main island) and the area encompassed by the Japanese Alps, a series of mountain ranges that make up the island's backbone. In its broadest meaning, ''snow country'' means the belt along the Sea of Japan from Yamaguchi (in particular, Shimane) in the south to Honshū's northern tip, as well as Sado Island and Hokkaidō. More narrowly defined, it is used to indicate the area from Fukui to Akita Prefecture, but it is most closely associated with part of Fukui and all of Toyama and Niigata Prefectures. "Heavy Snowfall Zones" refers to places where snowfall and snow cover are severe enough to be a hindrance to the livelihood of inhabitants or the development of local industry. In all, more than half of Japan's land area carries the designation—ten com ...
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Avalanches
An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earthquakes. Primarily composed of flowing snow and air, large avalanches have the capability to capture and move ice, rocks, and trees. Avalanches occur in two general forms, or combinations thereof: slab avalanches made of tightly packed snow, triggered by a collapse of an underlying weak snow layer, and loose snow avalanches made of looser snow. After being set off, avalanches usually accelerate rapidly and grow in mass and volume as they capture more snow. If an avalanche moves fast enough, some of the snow may mix with the air, forming a powder snow avalanche. Though they appear to share similarities, avalanches are distinct from slush flows, mudslides, rock slides, and serac collapses. They are also different from large scale movements ...
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Matagi
The are traditional winter hunters of the Tōhoku region of northern Japan, most famously today in the Ani area in Akita Prefecture, which is known for the Akita dogs. Afterwards, it spread to the Shirakami-Sanchi forest between Akita and Aomori, and other areas of Japan. Documented as a specialised group from the medieval period onwards, the Matagi continue to hunt deer and bear in the present day, and their culture has much in common with the bear worship of the Ainu people. With the introduction of modern firearms in the 19th century, and the rise of domestic rifle manufacture beginning with the Murata rifle, the need for group hunting for bear has diminished, leading to a decline in Matagi culture. Matagi hamlets are found in the districts of Nishitsugaru and Nakatsugaru (Aomori Prefecture), Kitaakita and Senboku (Akita Prefecture), Waga (Iwate Prefecture), Nishiokitama and Tsuruoka (Yamagata Prefecture), Murakami and Nakauonuma (Niigata Prefecture and Nagano Prefect ...
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Nagano (city)
is the capital and largest city of Nagano Prefecture, located in the Nagano Basin (Zenkoji Daira) in the central Chūbu region of Japan. Nagano is categorized as a core city of Japan. Nagano City is the highest prefectural capital in Japan, with an altitude of . The city is surrounded by mountains, the highest of which is Mount Takatsuma (2,353m), and is near the confluence of the Chikuma River - the longest and widest river in Japan - and the Sai River. , the city had an estimated population of 370,632 in 160,625 households, and a population density of 444 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Overview Nagano City, located in the former Shinano Province, developed from the Nara period (AD 710 to 794) as a temple town (''monzen machi''). The city of Nagano is home to Zenkō-ji, a 7th-century Buddhist temple that is listed as a Japanese national treasure. Zenkō-ji was established in its current location in 642 AD. The location of Zenkō-ji is approximately 2 kilometer ...
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1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the nearby mountain communities of Hakuba, Karuizawa, Nozawa Onsen, and Yamanouchi. The city of Nagano had previously been a candidate to host the 1940 Winter Olympics (which were later cancelled), as well as the 1972 Winter Olympics, but had been eliminated at the national level by Sapporo on both occasions. Nagano was selected to host the 1998 Games on 15 June 1991, beating Salt Lake City, Östersund, Jaca, and Aosta. This was the second Winter Olympics to be held in Japan, and the third Olympic Games overall, after the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo. The 1998 Winter Olympics were succeeded by the 1998 Winter Paralympics from 5 to 14 March. These were the final Winter Olympic ...
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Snow Country
is a novel by the Japanese author Yasunari Kawabata. The novel is considered a classic work of Japanese literature and was among the three novels the Nobel Committee cited in 1968, when Kawabata was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Writing process Gwenn Boardman Petersen uses ''Snow Country'' as an example of how he often composed his works. While writing that Japanese novelists often publish "their works in serial form and under various titles" she observes Kawabata is "further noted for his habit of rewriting, adding segments, and making changes in titles and content alike." The first segment, titled appeared in January 1935. Kawabata later wrote that he could not finish his manuscript by the submission deadline of this literary journal, and decided to keep writing and submit a second version of this segment, titled to the general-interest magazine several days later. Kawabata continued to write about the characters, and five more segments were published over the ...
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Tsunan
Ryu-ga-Kubo springs Akasawa neighborhood in Tsunan is a town located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 9,349 in 3480 households, and a population density of 54.2 persons per km². The total area of the town was . Geography Tsunan is located in southwestern Niigata Prefecture, in a mountainous area bordering northern Nagano Prefecture. The town is located on a river terrace of the Shinano River with the town hall at an elevation of 241 meters; however, much of the town area is mountainous, with Mount Naeba (2143 meters) is partly located within the town limits. Due to its geographical location between the Sea of Japan and the surrounding Japanese Alps, it has one of the highest annual snowfalls in Japan. There are numerous ski resorts within the region. Surrounding municipalities *Niigata Prefecture **Tōkamachi ** Yuzawa *Nagano Prefecture ** Sakae Climate Tsunan has a Humid subtropical climate with continental influences (Köppen ''Cfa/D ...
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Tōkamachi
is a city located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 28,728 in 19,823 households, and a population density of 86.3 persons per km². The total area of the city was , although some borders of the city are not well defined. Tōkamachi derives its name from the fact that a market was held every tenth day of the month. Similarly, the nearby former town of Muikamachi had its own local market held on days ending in six each month. Geography Tōkamachi is located in an inland region of southwest Niigata Prefecture. Parts of the city are within the borders of the Jōshin'etsu-kōgen National Park. Surrounding municipalities *Niigata Prefecture ** Nagaoka ** Jōetsu ** Kashiwazaki ** Ojiya **Uonuma **Minamiuonuma **Tsunan ** Yuzawa *Nagano Prefecture ** Sakae Climate Tōkamachi has a Humid continental climate (Köppen ''Dfa'') characterized by warm, wet summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Tōkamac ...
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Tateyama, Toyama
is a town located in Nakaniikawa District, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 26,212 in 9452 households and a population density of 85 persons per km². The total area of the town was . Geography Tateyama is located in east central Toyama Prefecture. The town is located in the Tateyama Mountain Range. Surrounding municipalities *Toyama Prefecture **Toyama **Kurobe **Kamiichi **Funahashi *Nagano Prefecture ** Ōmachi Climate The town has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by hot summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Tateyama is 13.4 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2242 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.1 °C. Demographics Per Japanese census data, the population of Tateyama was remarkably stable for several decades but has declined in recent ye ...
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Regions Of Japan
Japan is divided into eight regions. They are not official administrative units, though they have been used by government officials for statistical and other purposes since 1905. They are widely used in, for example, maps, geography textbooks, and weather reports, and many businesses and institutions use their home regions in their names, for example Kinki Nippon Railway, Chūgoku Bank, and Tōhoku University. Each region contains one or more of the country's 47 prefectures. Of the four main islands of Japan, Hokkaidō, Shikoku, and Kyūshū make up one region each, the latter also containing the Satsunan Islands, while the largest island Honshū is divided into five regions. Okinawa Prefecture is usually included in Kyūshū, but is sometimes treated as its own ninth region. Japan has eight High Courts, but their jurisdictions do not correspond to the eight regions (see Judicial system of Japan for details). Table Regions and islands This is a list of Japan's major ...
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Mount Zaō
The , commonly called Mount Zaō, are a complex cluster of stratovolcanoes on the border between Yamagata Prefecture and Miyagi Prefecture in Japan. The central volcano of the group includes several lava domes and a tuff cone, Goshiki-dake, which contains a crater lake named "Okama" ( 御釜). Also known as the "Five Color Pond" ( 五色沼, ''goshiki numa'') because it changes color depending on the weather, it lies in a crater formed by a volcanic eruption in the 1720s. The lake is in diameter and deep, and is one of the main tourist attractions in the area. One striking feature of Zaō's famous ski resorts is the "snow monsters" ( 樹氷, Juhyō) that appear in mid-winter. Strong wind over the nearby lake fling water droplets which freeze against the trees and their branches, until near-horizontal icicles begin to form. Falling snow settles on the ice formations, and the end result is a grotesque figure of a tree. The effect of a full forest of such trees gives visitors a ...
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Aomori, Aomori
is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 278,964 in 136,457 households, and a population density of 340 people per square kilometer spread over the city's total area of . Aomori is one of Japan's 60 core cities and the core of the Aomori metropolitan area. History ''Aomori'' literally means blue forest, although it could possibly be translated as "green forest". The name is generally considered to refer to a small forest on a hill which existed near the town. This forest was often used by fishermen as a landmark. A different theory suggests the name might have been derived from the Ainu language. The area has been settled extensively since prehistoric times, and numerous Jōmon period sites have been found by archaeologists, the most famous being the Sannai-Maruyama Site located just southwest of the city center dating to 5500–4000 BC, and the Komakino Site slightly farther south dating to arou ...
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