Juhyo: The Snow Monsters on Japan’s Mount Zao

Winter conditions at the summit of Mount Zao, a volcano standing between Japan’s Yamagata and Miyagi prefectures, can conjure up “creatures” of snow and ice, built up over tree trunks and branches. Windblown ice is covered by snow in repeated cycles, building hulking shapes on the mountain slopes. These famous Juhyo, or “snow monsters,” attract visitors to Mount Zao from the end of January through mid-March.

Read more
Hints: View this page full screen. Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.

Most Recent

  • Lindsey Wasson / Reuters
    • In Focus
    • July 30, 2021
    • 35 Photos

    Photos of the Week: Wooden Troll, Violin Boat, River Mary

    Scenes from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, wildfires in Turkey and Russia, a spacecraft in Earth’s orbit, migrants crossing the Mediterranean, flooding in China, and much more

  • David Swanson / Reuters
    • In Focus
    • July 28, 2021
    • 28 Photos

    Photos of California’s Dixie Fire

    Scenes from the Golden State’s largest wildfire of 2021 so far

  • Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
    • In Focus
    • July 26, 2021
    • 35 Photos

    Tokyo 2020: Images From the First Weekend of the Olympics

    Scenes from the first few days of Olympic competition in Japan

  • Yuichi Yamazaki / Getty
    • In Focus
    • July 23, 2021
    • 35 Photos

    Photos of the Week: Hazy Harbor, Hot Horse, Rocket Billionaire

    Preparation for the Tokyo Olympics, flood damage in Germany, Eid al-Adha prayers in Senegal, a crowded nightclub in London, a windy day in Montevideo, and much more

Most Popular on The Atlantic

  1. The MyPillow Guy Really Could Destroy Democracy
  2. The Insurrection Was Just Part of the Plot
  3. How Did It Come to This?
  4. 3 Rules for Middle-Age Happiness
  5. Why Managers Fear a Remote-Work Future
  6. The Return of Hypocrisy
  7. The New Moral Code of America’s Elite
  8. ‘I Would Go Tomorrow to Get the Third Shot’
  9. The mRNA Vaccines Are Extraordinary, but Novavax Is Even Better
  10. Germany Found a Way to Reduce Polarization. Could It Work in the U.S.?
Back to Top