In winter the beech forest at Matsunoyama has three metres of snow on the ground. Snowshoes let you walk across the top of it, at the height of the lower branches, in places you physically cannot reach in summer.
The forest itself is unusual. Bijin-bayashi - the beautiful forest - is a stand of beech where every tree is roughly the same age and height, because the whole wood was cut for charcoal at the same time and grew back together. Grey trunks, evenly spaced, against white. In winter there is no undergrowth at all, so you see straight through it.
Snow is also a record. Everything that crossed since the last fall is written on it. Hare, fox, marten, squirrel, and sometimes serow. You learn to read the gait as well as the print - which animal bounds, which walks in a line, which one was hunting. Most visitors have never looked at a forest this way.
No experience is needed. Snowshoes are strapped over normal boots and you can use them within five minutes. The route is gentle, about two hours with stops, and we go at the slowest person's pace.
Then Matsunoyama Onsen. It is one of the three strongest medicinal hot springs in Japan, with water so mineral-dense it is almost oily, drawn from fossil seawater trapped underground. After two hours in the snow it is the correct ending.
Your private van, driver-guide and the whole day are yours alone. No other customers join.
Avalanche risk, heavy snowfall or a guide's judgement can close the forest route. If a stop is closed or cancelled on your date, your driver-guide takes you to a similar place nearby instead. The tour price does not change. We will tell you before the tour.
