Winter arrives in Hokkaido … in August

Photos are beginning to circle the internet showing snow on the Kurodake ropeway. This is nothing unusual about snow in Kurodake; the mountain typically gets 15 metres of snow a season, and is one of the most popular resorts in Hokkaido for expert skiers.

However the photo was captured today – August 17 – in what is rumoured to be the earliest snowfall in Hokkaido since 1972.

We’d love to suggest that this bodes well for the season ahead, but the reality is that it doesn’t tell us all that much – only that this is a very unusual August. Nonetheless, we love seeing snow on the ground any time of year, and we’ll take any excuse to get hyped for the 2018/19 season ahead!