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
S. Hata Building restored S. Hata building. It displays educational interactive exhibits on the Leeward Islands, which are protected along with their surrounding waters as the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The name comes from "Mokupāpapa" in the Hawaiian language which means "flat/low reef island". This name was used in chants of Ancient Hawaii, perhaps referring to the area now known as French Frigate Shoals, or the northwestern islands in general. The Northwestern islands stretch for hundreds of miles northwest of the main Hawaiian islands; the discovery center is on the southeastern-most island in the chain, Hawai'i Island, which is the youngest and farthest