Aside from the Sapporo snow festival (or Okinawa to avoid the cold) What attractions in Japan are best in winter? Japanese always have "appropriate" seasons for going to every location, so what do you/they recommend for the winter. It seems that every site is "best" in the spring and fall.
I have been told that Kinkakuji is best in winter, because the gold really pops out against the white snow. I also think Suzumushi Temple is a nice winter place, since it's really warm.
What do you think or what have you been told?
Kat Kat2008-12-01T20:32:08Z
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If you are lookign for a rest from the hussle and bussle of life in Japan, go to Takayama! It's off the Tokaido Shinkansen line (the largest, most heavily trafficed line), so it's a little harder to get there, but well worth it! Takayama features a village of traditional Japanese buildings, which include rooves made of straw. In the winter, the snow can pile up to three feet. Takayama is also the home of a group of people (a cult?) that thinks the town is the center of some sort of energy or aura. This wasn't really of interest to me, but I think a lot of people want to know about that. Takayama also has a lot of good, natural food restaurants. I was surprised to find that the people there seem to be more natural than their city-dwelling countrymen. Much less dyed hair or heels, just good food and good people. The Rickshaw Inn is a comfortable, clean and very cozy B&B that you should definitely look into. They have Japanese and Western style rooms. Takayama is a great place to go if you are looking to get away from the crowds of the cities. I think Takayama would be great in any season, but I went there in February when it was a winter wonderland.
...Another idea, and you might be able to find this in Takayama, is to go to a rotemburo - an outdoor hot spring. There's nothing quite like the sensation of sliding naked into a boiling pool of water in the middle of a snow fall.