I first witness the beauty of this natural phenomenon when we touch down at Sapporo’s New Chitose Airport on an overcast afternoon in January, and all throughout our 100-minute drive up to Kiroro, a hotel and ski resort nestled in a mountain valley in Hokkaido. Through the car windows, we are able to spot rows of bare trees and the occasional building in a sea of white — forming monochrome landscapes reminiscent of a shan shui (traditional Chinese ink) painting.
Discovered by Yamaha Corp in the 1980s during its search for the world’s finest powder snow, Kiroro is brimming with activities and entertainment for all generations and seasons.
SINGAPORE (March 11): Not all snow is created equal. There is “sugar” snow, whose large and faceted crystal structure is often blamed for causing avalanches. Not to mention “Sierra cement” snow, nicknamed for its heavy and wet texture, its drier “mashed potato” counterpart. Come springtime, there is “corn” snow, the result of a year-long freeze-thaw cycle and one that is especially prized by backcountry skiers for its velvety surface. But perhaps the most coveted of them all is “powder” snow: feather-light, fluffy, luxuriously soft to the touch and found in abundance across Hokkaido, the largest and northernmost prefecture of Japan.
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