Overview
Many Japanese flock to Zao Onsen during winter, not to ski or snowboard, but to see the rime encrusted snow monsters (Juhyo). Zao is one of the few places in Japan where this phenomenon occurs whereby the fir trees become caked in snow and frozen rain. Due to the unique combinations of weather patterns, water droplets become super-cooled within the clouds but don’t freeze, even though it’s colder than zero degrees. These droplets are mixed with snow and are blasted by the wind onto the trees, so they take on bizarre shapes.