Just off Bokushi Dori in Shiozawa, behind a park which is a big hit with the little ones, is the Suzuki Bokushi Memorial Museum. The museum is a beautiful, spacious building with high wooden beams (with amazing joints) that was built in 1989. It celebrates the life and times of the writer Suzuki Bokushi who was born in Shiozawa in January 1770. His writings such as Hokkuetsu Seppu and Akiyama Kiko did much to spread knowledge of this area to other parts of Japan. They are wel

There are many traditional techniques that are still in use in present day Snow Country. One of the most visually stunning that we have witnessed recently is Yukisarashi, which is the process of laying lengths of kimono material out on the snow to be bleached. Weaving has a long history in Snow Country with evidence of material woven from plant fibres dating back to Jomon times. Shiozawa has long been a important town for textile manufacture and the cloth from this region has