Japan’s Miyagi Prefecture Gets Ready For Winter

The winter season is closing in and therefore, it is time to start thinking about what activities are out there to make it the best winter season yet. Although the winter brings cold weather and darker evenings with it comes the start of the ski season, festive events and plenty of exciting winter activities. Miyagi Prefecture is one of the best places to travel to during the winter months when travelling around Japan, the area hosts a number of exceptional ski resorts, stunning winter scenery that can be reached on foot and by boat, as well as family-friendly snow festivals.

Visit Zao Sumikawa for deep powder and snow monster spectacle

Boarding the Miyagi and Yamagata prefectures is Zao Sumikawa snow park, it is located at 1100 meters, the highest-elevation in Miyagi. The ski resort is renowned for its spectacular off-piste runs perfect for powder hounds looking for deep and fluffy snow to set tracks on. Visitors can hike, get a snowcat vehicle tour or take the gondola from Zao Sanroku to the famous ‘snow monsters’ of Miyagi-Zao. During the winter months, trees take on curious shapes due to the heavy snowfall and freezing winds disfiguring them to look like monsters. During the evening the monsters around the summit are lit up, visitors can enjoy the view from outside or inside a cosy café nearby. Backcountry excursions are another must when visiting Zao Sumikawa, a guide will thoroughly acquaint guests with the local terrain and teach them backcountry safety techniques. Guides can be customised for various abilities.

Ski the largest ski resort in Miyagi, Onikobe

Onikobe is a ski resort in Northern Miyagi offering stunning runs and the well-known Japanese hot spring baths, welcome after a day on the thigh-burning slopes. The resort hosts an even mix of beginner, intermediate and advanced runs for both skiers and snowboarders. In addition to the groomed slope, this resort boasts one of the longest ungroomed powder runs in Miyagi with night skiing on offer on Saturdays, Sundays and during the holidays. Onikobe is an incredibly convenient and comfortable resort with enough skiing to host a multi-day visit. There are a number of charming lodges clustered around the base of the resort making it easy for guests to walk to and from the slopes without having to catch the bus.

• Travel to Onikobe - Visitors can get a shuttle bus from Sendai or Ishinomaki station to the resort or a city bus from Naruk-Onsen Station
• Admission – Adult 1-day pass: 3,700 yen/ £28
• Open dates – Runs open mid-December to late March

Set sight on the incredible Akiu Falls

The Akiu Falls are one of the three most famous Japanese waterfalls with a width of 6 meters and a fall of 55 meters located just a 40-minute drive from Sendai-South Interchange. They are one of the most impressive waterfalls to visitor, follow the riverside promenade and walk to a spectacular viewpoint that looks out across the valley and river below showcasing dramatic frozen cascades. From the viewpoint there is a trail that leads right to the bottom of the Akuiu Falls, take caution during the winter months as thick snow can cover the path.

Take a river cruise along the Abukuma River

Abukuma River offers boat tours taking guests up the river highlighting remarkable views of the surrounding nature. The boat passes through a gorge, forests and near beaches and wetlands full of native Japanese birds. During the winter months the land is sprinkled with snow creating a magnificent magical feel to the landscape. Adding to the experience in winter the tour boats are turned into floating restaurants with heaters and blankets put in the middle of the vessel where guests sit on the floor. Huge hotpots of food, with meat, seafood, vegetables and noodles are all cooked into a delicious soup broth and given to guests onboard to warm up and enjoy 

Eboshi Penguin walk and Snow Firework Festival

For a truly special visit, visit Eboshi ski resort, another of the many snow parks that pepper the mountains across the northern Tohoku region. The resort celebrates the middle of the season putting on an impressive firework display of around 1000 colourful fireworks, lighting up the sky and snow-capped mountains to music. Adding to the extravaganza ski instructors perform a torch lit decent of the main slopes. Eboshi snow park is unusual as it is the only ski resort in Japan to have ‘penguin walks’, during these walks’ penguins from Sendai aquarium’s visit with their keepers in December for locals and visitors to marvel over.

Miyagi Prefecture is located in the Tohoku region (north-eastern Japan), only 1.5 hours north of Tokyo by bullet train. Visitors to the region can immerse themselves in the “real Japan”, exploring the beauty of its untouched nature and experiencing first-hand the ancient culture and traditions influenced by the prominent feudal lord, Masamune Date, whose clan dates back more than 400 years. Miyagi is also home to Matsushima, one of the three most scenic spots of Japan, a bay area with over 260 pineclad islands, and the colourful festive events that attract Japanese and international visitors alike, such as the renowned Sendai Tanabata ‘Star’ Festival and the Sendai Pageant of Starlight. This region is also celebrated for its local produce from the sea, mountains and land, made with great care and producing only the best quality, such as Miyagi oysters, Sendai beef, and other superb seafood and agricultural products. The clear, fresh waters combined with the local rice create delicious sake that pairs well with both Japanese and Western dishes.