Japan Heritage story
Tokamachi, the ultimate snow country
究極の雪国とおかまち
Tokamachi in Niigata is one of the snowiest places on earth, with more than 2 metres lying even in town in an average winter. For thousands of years people here have fought the snow, used it and even found joy in it, and it shaped their clothes, food, houses, festivals and art.
Key facts
- Theme
- Forests and timber, Festivals and rituals, Textiles and dyes, Food and sake
- Era
- Jōmon, Edo, Meiji
- Region
- Chubu
- Official name in Japanese
- 究極の雪国とおかまち
- Official subtitle in Japanese
- ―真説！豪雪地ものがたり―
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 新潟県（十日町市）
The story
Heavy snow has fallen here since the middle of the Jomon period. Snow shaped the cloth: angin, an ancient knitted fabric lost elsewhere in Japan, survived only around Tokamachi, and the fine ramie cloth Echigo-chijimi, loved by the shogun's household, was woven by women through the long winters, then bleached on the snow under spring sun. In the Meiji period the town switched to silk, the start of today's kimono industry.
Snow shaped the food, too: vegetables kept under snow, and hegi soba, smooth noodles bound with funori, the seaweed weavers used to stiffen thread. Houses have strong beams and steep roofs that people dig out after each storm. Snow became fun as well: newly married men are thrown into the snow at the mukonage festival, and the Tokamachi Snow Festival, started in 1950, fills the town with snow sculptures made by neighbours and workmates.
What to see
- Bijinbayashi: a beautiful beech forest, very different in every season.Google Maps 美人林 (opens in a new tab)
- Kiyotsu Gorge: dramatic columnar cliffs combined with contemporary art from the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale.Google Maps 清津峡 (opens in a new tab)
- Former Murooka House: an old farmhouse built to stand up to deep snow.Google Maps 旧室岡家住宅 (opens in a new tab)
Plan your trip with the Niigata prefecture guide and see more nature.
Good to know
- Try hegi soba, Tokamachi's smooth buckwheat noodles made with funori seaweed.
- Visit the Sekki-ichi market in January for chinkoro, lucky rice-flour figures of puppies and zodiac animals.
- Snow usually lies from about November to April; come in spring for terraced rice fields edged with melting snow.
Questions travellers ask
How much snow does Tokamachi get?
In an average winter, snow lies more than 2 metres deep even in the town centre.
When is the Tokamachi Snow Festival?
It is held in winter and began in 1950. Check the official festival site for this year's dates.
Where it comes from
More heritage stories from the same area
Local foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.