Japan Snow

Northern Japan, especially the island of Hokkaido, is home to some of the snowiest cities in the world. A satellite image from NASA's Terra satellite shows snow blanketing Hokkaido, with sea ice swirling just north of the island.

The image, acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on February 5, 2026, features several large caldera lakes and a checkerboard pattern of forested windbreaks around Nakashibetsu.

Despite the region's familiarity with heavy snowfall, winter 2026 got off to a disruptive start, with intense storms in January and February paralyzing transportation systems. Read more about sea ice and snowstorms in Japan.