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
Gotland island, and it is the largest island fully encompassed by the Baltic Sea (with Denmark's Zealand at the Baltic's edge). With its total area of the island of Gotland and the other areas of the province of Gotland make up 0.8% of Sweden's total land area. The province includes the small islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the north, as well as the Karlsö Islands, (Lilla and Stora) to the west, which are even smaller. The island of Gotland has an area of , whereas the province has [ of land excluding the lakes and rivers]. The population is