Snow country (Japan) Snow country (Japan) Snow country (雪国 "yukiguni"; also, more prosaically, 豪雪地帯 "gōsetsu chitai" ["heavy snow area"]) refers to areas in Japan characterized by heavy, long-lasting snowfalls. The rather poetic can refer to any place with heavy or deep snows and is generally understood as a reference to the Sea of Japan side of Honshū (Japan's main island) and the area encompassed by the Japanese Alps, a series of mountain ranges that make up the island's backbone. In its broadest meaning, "snow country" means the belt along the Sea of Japan from Yamaguchi (in particular, Shimane) in the south to Honshū's
Antique (province) of Panay. The province, with a total land area of , is an elongated stretch of land occupying the entire western side of the island. It is bounded by the rugged central mountains of Panay, bordering on the provinces of Aklan in the northeast, Capiz on the east, Iloilo in the southeast and the Sulu Sea on the west. Its western-most and northernmost point is Semirara Island at , while its eastern tip is approximately . Anini-y is the province's most southerly point at . Resembling a seahorse in shape, it is long and at its widest point. Antique has