{"id":15101,"date":"2026-01-03T10:19:26","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T17:19:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mattfife.com\/?p=15101"},"modified":"2026-01-03T13:25:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T20:25:08","slug":"mt-zao-snow-monsters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mattfife.com\/?p=15101","title":{"rendered":"Mt Zao snow monsters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" data-attachment-id=\"15102\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/mattfife.com\/?attachment_id=15102\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfife.com\/wp-content\/themes\/mattTheme\/headerimgs\/2025\/09\/Bunshokan-1-2.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1000,667\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;4.5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;ILCE-1&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1644815062&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;28&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;125&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00025&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Bunshokan-1-2\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfife.com\/wp-content\/themes\/mattTheme\/headerimgs\/2025\/09\/Bunshokan-1-2.jpg?fit=640%2C427&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfife.com\/wp-content\/themes\/mattTheme\/headerimgs\/2025\/09\/Bunshokan-1-2.jpg?resize=640%2C427&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15102\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfife.com\/wp-content\/themes\/mattTheme\/headerimgs\/2025\/09\/Bunshokan-1-2.jpg?w=1000&amp;ssl=1 1000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfife.com\/wp-content\/themes\/mattTheme\/headerimgs\/2025\/09\/Bunshokan-1-2.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfife.com\/wp-content\/themes\/mattTheme\/headerimgs\/2025\/09\/Bunshokan-1-2.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfife.com\/wp-content\/themes\/mattTheme\/headerimgs\/2025\/09\/Bunshokan-1-2.jpg?resize=405%2C270&amp;ssl=1 405w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mount_Za%C5%8D\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mount_Za%C5%8D\">Mount Zao<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.japan.travel\/en\/spot\/418\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.japan.travel\/en\/spot\/418\/\">Snow Monsters<\/a> are not real snow monsters. They are an unusual natural phenomenon called juhyo which occurs on Mount Zao in Japan from late December to March. <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Abies_mariesii\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Abies_mariesii\">Maries&#8217; Fir<\/a> trees are evergreen conifer trees indigenous to the central-northern mountain regions of Honshu. They endure blazing summer heat and then bitter winters. Each winter Siberian winds travel across the North Japan Sea and batter the mountain with 6-9 feet of snow which glazes the fir trees with freezing condensation to create these strange creations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They become a tourist attraction both day via cable car and when illuminated at night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"397\" data-attachment-id=\"15103\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/mattfife.com\/?attachment_id=15103\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfife.com\/wp-content\/themes\/mattTheme\/headerimgs\/2025\/09\/Bunshokan-1-5.jpg?fit=1000%2C620&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1000,620\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;6.3&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;ILCE-1&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1644818766&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;20&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;125&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0008&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Bunshokan-1-5\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfife.com\/wp-content\/themes\/mattTheme\/headerimgs\/2025\/09\/Bunshokan-1-5.jpg?fit=640%2C397&amp;ssl=1\" data-id=\"15103\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfife.com\/wp-content\/themes\/mattTheme\/headerimgs\/2025\/09\/Bunshokan-1-5.jpg?resize=640%2C397&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15103\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfife.com\/wp-content\/themes\/mattTheme\/headerimgs\/2025\/09\/Bunshokan-1-5.jpg?w=1000&amp;ssl=1 1000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfife.com\/wp-content\/themes\/mattTheme\/headerimgs\/2025\/09\/Bunshokan-1-5.jpg?resize=300%2C186&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfife.com\/wp-content\/themes\/mattTheme\/headerimgs\/2025\/09\/Bunshokan-1-5.jpg?resize=768%2C476&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfife.com\/wp-content\/themes\/mattTheme\/headerimgs\/2025\/09\/Bunshokan-1-5.jpg?resize=435%2C270&amp;ssl=1 435w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"279\" data-attachment-id=\"15104\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/mattfife.com\/?attachment_id=15104\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfife.com\/wp-content\/themes\/mattTheme\/headerimgs\/2025\/09\/Zao-Snow-Monsters-1-9.webp?fit=1200%2C523&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1200,523\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Zao-Snow-Monsters-1-9\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfife.com\/wp-content\/themes\/mattTheme\/headerimgs\/2025\/09\/Zao-Snow-Monsters-1-9.webp?fit=640%2C279&amp;ssl=1\" data-id=\"15104\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfife.com\/wp-content\/themes\/mattTheme\/headerimgs\/2025\/09\/Zao-Snow-Monsters-1-9.webp?resize=640%2C279&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15104\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfife.com\/wp-content\/themes\/mattTheme\/headerimgs\/2025\/09\/Zao-Snow-Monsters-1-9.webp?resize=1024%2C446&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfife.com\/wp-content\/themes\/mattTheme\/headerimgs\/2025\/09\/Zao-Snow-Monsters-1-9.webp?resize=300%2C131&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfife.com\/wp-content\/themes\/mattTheme\/headerimgs\/2025\/09\/Zao-Snow-Monsters-1-9.webp?resize=768%2C335&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfife.com\/wp-content\/themes\/mattTheme\/headerimgs\/2025\/09\/Zao-Snow-Monsters-1-9.webp?resize=604%2C263&amp;ssl=1 604w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mattfife.com\/wp-content\/themes\/mattTheme\/headerimgs\/2025\/09\/Zao-Snow-Monsters-1-9.webp?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Mount Zao Snow Monsters are not real snow monsters. They are an unusual natural phenomenon called juhyo which occurs on Mount Zao in Japan from late December to March. Maries&#8217; Fir trees are evergreen conifer trees indigenous to the central-northern mountain regions of Honshu. They endure blazing summer heat and then bitter winters. Each winter Siberian winds travel across the North Japan Sea and batter the mountain with 6-9 feet of snow which glazes the fir trees with freezing&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/mattfife.com\/?p=15101\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9,14,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cool","category-photography","category-travel"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4WECr-3Vz","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattfife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattfife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattfife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattfife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattfife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15101"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/mattfife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15837,"href":"https:\/\/mattfife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15101\/revisions\/15837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattfife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattfife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattfife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}