Japan Data Archive

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Which part of Japan has the most snow?

Except for semitropical Okinawa, most parts of Japan have snow in winter.
Northwesterly seasonal winds off the Asian continent, blocked by rugged mountains, bring heavy snows to the Japan Sea coast from Hokkaido to the central part of Honshu.
On the border between Niieata Prefecture and Fukushima Prefecture, and in the mountains of the Hokuriku region, snowfall of over three meters is not unusual.
The heaviest snowfall on record is eight meters in the mountains of Niigata Prefecture, one of the snowiest regions on earth.