Yes, it's true. Spending some money on skiing among snow monsters and soaking in hot-spring baths is a good way to help the Tohoku region of northeastern Honshu recover from the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, the terrible tsunami it triggered and the ongoing nuclear crisis that followed.
Dating back 1,900 years, Zao Onsen, in Yamagata Prefecture, has a snowscape that is unique among the winter climes of planet Earth. Even if you don't ski, it's worth going there just to take a series of lifts and gondolas to the apex of the mountain and see the "snow monsters" — Aomori firs caked with snow and ice formed by a magical mix of winds and the right temperatures.
It really is special. It's indeed one of the natural wonders of the Japanese world. The business card of Zao Onsen Tourism Association Director Yutaka Onuma says: "Traditional hot springs for more than 1,900 years."