There are many ways to explore Japan, but one of the most unusual has to be snowshoeing in the Tohoku region. Known as Japan’s Wild North, this area at the northern tip of Honshu Island is rugged, isolated, and spectacularly beautiful. Tohoku offers wide swaths of old-growth forest, deep winter snows, and Japan’s longest mountain range (the Ōu  Mountains). And there’s no better way to delve into the backcountry in wintertime than by strapping on a pair of snowshoes and hitting the hills.

Most people who travel to Japan focus on its urban centers: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima. These cities are bustling, densely populated, and filled with stimuli. Tohoku offers something completely different – emptiness, tradition, and endless quiet. If you don snowshoes and head out into the forests, it gets even quieter.

I explored this region with Walk Japan, a company that offers both guided and self-guided walking tours throughout the country. Their Tohoku winter tour, complete with wintry forests, remote villages, and steaming onsen baths, gave me the chance to experience a side of Japan that many visitors never see.

Into the Snow Country

You arrive at a world covered in snow, even in early March. This is real snow, sink-into-it-up-past-your-knees snow, snow that blankets the landscape as far as the eye can see.

And that snow keeps coming down day after day, turning roads into drift-walled corridors – or burying them entirely.

Nearly every day, I found myself towering over signs that had all but disappeared beneath a snowy expanse.

The hills of Tohoku are rolling rather than rugged, so your first impression is one of vastness rather than of drama. This makes the small villages and often-deserted homes feel even emptier than they are.

It’s beautiful region, almost haunting in its empty stillness.

Strapping on Your Snowshoes

You can arrive in Tohoku a snowshoe novice, but you’ll want to be in shape. If you’ve never done it, think of snowshoeing as the winter equivalent of walking on sand – you’re not pushing off on an even surface, so your body has a lot more work to do. Walk Japan gives you a choice of snowshoes: the modern variety, or the traditional Japanese version called kanjiki.

I opted for the longer, aluminum tube snowshoe version on my first days, but by the end of the trip, everyone was in kanjiki. They just seemed to perform better on this terrain. The only trick is in learning how to tie them.

Out in the Hills

Expect to be out on your snowshoes for three to four hours most days. You’ll be heading out over hilly terrain, sometimes with no trail at all to follow, sometimes with just the remnants of an old mountain road. There’s a good bit of hard work and trudging in determined lines.

Most days have a similar rhythm: you snowshoe uphill, with some breaks for flatter terrain. The group often gets quite spread out, so there’s plenty of time to stop for a rest or to take photos. The scenery changes slowly – if you’re a hiker, this will feel familiar. You’re always following one or more local guides, masters of the forest whose deep knowledge of each area helps them map out the best routes. They’ll also let you know exactly when it’s time to stop and rest with a cup of tea – and they’ll carve out frozen benches fit for purpose.

Then it’s back out into the woods, getting ready to walk again. The downhills can feel the most treacherous, because you don’t want to find yourself tripping over the front of your snowshoe and flying forward. But you’re working on a slippery surface, so everyone falls at some point. The good news is that the landing is always easy (you just end up with a little extra snow on your clothes).

It’s not all hard work, though. Sometimes the fastest way down – and the most fun – is to sit and slide. (You may wish to lower your volume before pressing play.)

Surprises in the Snow

Because this is the wilderness, there are also unexpected delights. On our very first day, we headed out into a dense forest. We hadn’t gotten very far before our guide paused and veered straight uphill.

Wow, it was tough going. I was glad I’d put in a few hours at the gym before the trip. But it was worth it, because he’d found a troop of snow monkeys up ahead.

This was a real treat, and a rare one. I can’t promise you snow monkeys on a Walk Japan Tohoku trip. But you can hope.

Trees of Ice and Wind

This isn’t just regular snowy wilderness – Tohoku weather whips up remarkable snow formations. With the right combination of wind and temperature, you’ll see juhyo, or frost-covered trees.

If you’re lucky, the top of Mount Zao will be covered in rime-covered trees called “snow monsters.” We were too late in the season, but you can start to get the idea.

All of this makes for some dramatic landscapes.

It also makes for hard work, because these ice crystals are made by frigid Siberian winds. Expect cold temperatures, windy hills, and clouds that hang low with an ever-present risk of more snow.

You’ll want lots of warm clothes – I even added to my collection to better combat the wind.

I’ll be posting a packing list later in the year, so if you’re planning for this trip, check back for some important tips.

We were on snowshoes for all but the last day, which took us to the small port city of Sakata. So you do have one day to walk around on your own two feet.

More Than Just a Snowshoe Adventure

Walk Japan calls this their “Tohoku Hot Spring Snow Tour,” so maybe the hot springs should get top billing. After all, this region boasts one of the highest concentrations of onsens in all of Japan; over 650 operate in the area today. On this tour, you’ll have onsen access every night.

You’ll also travel through small villages, learn about local traditions, and eat on the floor in people’s living rooms.

This is another area where traveling with Walk Japan is key: they take you to places you would never find on your own. The whole point of this tour is to get you off the beaten path and into real, rural Japan.

You see how rural Japan is changing, how once-thriving towns have emptied out as younger generations have flocked to the cities. You’ll learn about ways that those left behind are trying to hang on and meet the people keeping their communities alive in new ways. After one hard snowshoeing morning, we had a delicious meal in a schoolhouse that’s been repurposed as a neighborhood space – because the village has almost no children. Every birth becomes a local celebration.

In another town, we visited a train station that also includes a library, performance space, police station, michi-no-eki (think a combination grocery store and gift shop), and train museum.

The purpose of spaces like these is simple: to create regional gathering spots for communities struggling to survive.

It would be very difficult to understand and appreciate these areas (never mind access them) without an organized, guided tour. For example, how else would we have ended up drinking sake in a four-stool convenience store – wearing our yukatas – in a town with only twenty-four remaining families?

We visited shrines and temples, enjoyed a performance by local historical poet reenactors (yes, that’s a thing), and ate more good food than I can possibly describe. Though we needed our guide for every single moment of translation, it still felt like cultural immersion in the best of ways.

Snowshoeing in Tohoku: Is This the Trip for You?

This is a great trip if you like to be outdoors, enjoy the cold, want to engage in cultural exploration, and are willing to put in a bit of work. Walk Japan has designated this a Level 3 tour (on a scale from 1 to 6), saying that participants must be able to “handle their own luggage, climb stairs and walk between 10km to 25km (6.2 miles to 15.5 miles) each day.” I would say that being reasonably fit is a plus, though the trip was not so challenging as those official numbers might suggest.

It will help if you’re a high-energy traveler. There is down time when you’re sitting on the bus or relaxing in the onsen, but this is an active trip. Plan to do a lot. And plan to eat a lot – this is a feast-every-meal kind of trip.

You also need to enjoy being around other people. The twelve of us spent a lot of time together – on snowshoes, in onsens, at meals, and even crammed into itty-bitty small-town train stations.

The camaraderie is a real highlight, but this might not be the trip for you if you need lots of solitude or downtime. I would also consider other options (Walk Japan has them!) if you prefer to relax indoors, enjoy leisurely travel, or want to explore Japan’s urban centers.

Tohoku Beyond the Snow: Final Reflections

I chose this trip for the snowshoeing, the onsens, and the picture of the snow monsters on the Walk Japan website. I didn’t expect to delve so deeply into the countryside, to learn about local culture, or to make so many wonderful connections. Tohoku offers so much more than snowy mountains, especially if you venture beyond its few touristy destinations. I’ll be thinking about its people and and places for a long time to come.