A Village with 200 cm of Snow
Snow covers Akita from December to early April that turns everything white. Some villages get especially heavy snow that snow can get up to 200 cm by the end of the season. People even cannot see roads without clearing up snow. It is a lot of works for adult, but of course, a paradise for children.
Private Ski Resort in Backyard
Fresh and soft snow covers a little hill in the backyard. This hill is a playground for children. They create steps by their foot while climbing up to the top. Adults go first to make a way by using their weight when everyone gets to the top of the hill. Children follow that. It’s faster than we imagine.
Everyone dive straight into the snow without fear including dogs. The hill is very steep that sometimes adult gets scared, but snow is so soft that does not hurt at all. Everyone gets excited and even sweating while outside is as cold as -5C. (23F.)
みんな臆せずにどんどん雪に飛び込んで生きます。秋田犬も飛び込みます。大人の方が怖がるくらい、急な斜面ですが、雪が本当に柔らかいので、痛さなどはありません。マイナス5度の気温ですが、汗をかくくらいみんあおおはしゃぎです。
(Student from Thailand)
There is no snow in my country. Cold was my worry about coming to Akita. Usual temperature is 30C back home that I took a lot of warmest cloth from home when I heard that it could get -10C in Akita. I’m still not used to this. However, snow is so beautiful that I’m amazed to see it every day. It is fascinating to see different view every morning when I wake up. Sometimes I find icicles that have created overnight or plain white view that erase every signs of the day before.
I was astonished how energetic children are. They play around and dive into snow regardless of cold. The little hill in the backyard we played is very steep that I was a little bit scared. But children slide it down like nothing. I also met an Akitainu, a famous kind of dog in Akita. Akitainu is also well known in Thailand by the movie “Hachi: A Dog’s Tale.” I was looking forward to see Akitainu when I found out that this is where the dog came from. The dog was playing in the snow well too.