Without a doubt, one of the most epic things to do in Japan is スキー. And no, that’s not 好き (suki, like/love), but sukī (skiing) — although falling in love is certainly up there, too.

Given the famous powder and countless mountains and resorts from Hiroshima to Hokkaido, you can’t go wrong with スキー and スノーボード (sunōbōdo, snowboarding) in 冬 (fuyu, winter).

In all honesty, these are not activities that require a ton of Japanese knowledge. Rather, lacking the necessary ski vocabulary will likely just confine you to the most touristy slopes. Therefore, let’s take on some winter words so we can take on some winter powder.

Downhill skiing in Japan dates back to the 1910s, when Austrian Theodor Edler von Lerch came to Niigata Prefecture to teach mountain warfare and skiing to the Japanese army. The sport gained popularity postwar, especially after the 1956 and 1972 冬季オリンピック (tōki orinpikku, Winter Olympics) in Italy and Sapporo, respectively. This culminated in a national skiing mania in the 1980s that burst along with the economic bubble. Still, with superb resort infrastructure from the boom, Japan picked up steam as an international ski destination following the 1998 冬季オリンピック in Nagano.

Per recent counts, 日本にはスキー場が500ヶ所以上ある (Nihon ni wa sukī-jō ga gohyaku-kasho ijō aru, in Japan there are over 500 ski resorts). While 場, read “ba” or “jō” typically refers to a place, スキー場 (sukī-jō) is used more often than スキーリゾート (sukī rizōto, ski resort) as by far the majority of skiing destinations in Japan, apart from the most touristy areas, are more like casual ski hills than full-on resorts. 北海道のニセコや富良野から、長野県の白馬や野沢温泉まで、日本には一流のスキーリゾート地が豊富にあります (Hokkaido no Niseko ya Furano kara, Nagano-ken no Hakuba ya Nozawa Onsen made, Nihon niwa ichiryū no sukī rizōto-chi ga hōfu ni arimasu, From Niseko and Furano in Hokkiado to Hakuba and Nozawa Onsen in Nagano Prefecture, Japan has an abundance of top-tier ski resorts).

Any ski trip starts with choosing a resort destination to visit. Ski tourism websites offer 全国のスキー場ランキング (zenkoku no sukī-jō rankingu, national ski resort rankings) that provide helpful information such as 積雪 (sekisetsu, snow cover), 滑走状況 (kassō jōkyō, downhill conditions), オープン予定日 (ōpun yoteibi, scheduled opening dates) and クローズ予定日 (kurōzu yoteibi, scheduled closing dates), as well as the number of コース (kōsu, courses) and リフト(rifuto, ski lifts) available.

However, when it comes to actually picking a spot to ski, especially if you’re dipping your toes into the snow for the first time, consider a 日帰り (higaeri, day trip). An online search for スキー場　東京からの日帰り (sukī-jō Tōkyō kara no higaeri, ski resort, day trip from Tokyo) can help narrow down the options.

When deciding which スキー場 to visit, in addition to 走行時間 (sōkō jikan, transit time), you’ll want to consider the level of コース: How many each of 初級コース (shokyū kōsu, beginning courses), 中級コース (chūkyū kōsu, intermediate courses) and 上級コース (jōkyū kōsu, advanced courses). Ski resort websites will list this information alongside information on each course: 滑走距離 (kassō kyori, course length), 最大の斜度 (saidai no shado, maximum incline) and 平均の斜度 (heikin no shado, average incline), コース標高 (kōsu hyōkō, course elevation) for トップ (toppu, peak) and ベース (bēsu, bottom), and コース幅 (kōsu haba, course width). All such information will fall under sections called ゲレンデ情報 (gerende jyōhō, ski slope information).

You’ll also need to think about the various costs of skiing. リフト券 (Rifuto ken, lift tickets) are far from cheap, with day passes starting at around 4千円 (yonsen-en, ¥4,000) at cheap local resorts, and going as high as 8千円 (hassen-en, ¥8,000) or more at prime destinations on weekends or holidays. In addition, there are レンタル (rentaru, rentals): Besides the actual スキー or スノーボード, you’ll need ブーツ (būtsu, boots) and ウェア (uea, wear), which includes スキージャケット (sukī jaketto) and スキーパンツ (sukī pantsu, ski pants). Of course, you’ll also want to be well equipped with a ニット帽 (nitto bō, knit beanie) or ヘルメット (herumetto, helmet), 手袋 (tebukuro, gloves) and maybe some ヒートテック (hīto tekku, Heattech) from Uniqlo. It’s safest to make online reservations for both リフト券 and レンタル, since it may allow you to skip dastardly long 並び (narabi, lines) when you arrive at the resort.

When actually on the slopes, there are essential guidelines to follow for the sake of safety. These rules, however, will be phrased by スキー場 in slightly different ways than they would be in English. For example, from the Japan Snowboarding Association, the number one safety guideline: 他のスノーボーダーやスキーヤーに思いやりの心を持ちましょう (Hoka no sunōbōdā ya sukīyā ni omoiyari no kokoro o mochimashō, Let’s hold a spirit of thoughtfulness/consideration toward other snowboarders and skiers.) This guideline has a slight case of Japanese indirectness and can probably be more accurately translated as: “It is your own responsibility to watch out for other skiers and snowboarders.”

The 〜しょう (shō, let’s) grammar structure, connotes an invitation or suggestion, and is often used as a friendly way of conveying a rule. Thus, 安全にスキーしましょう！ (anzen ni sukī shimashō, let’s ski safely!) may sound fun, but it is also an indirect way to suggest a rule that must be followed.

Another essential element on a スキー場 is 雪 (yuki, snow), so make sure to check the 天気情報 (tenki jōhō, weather report) before you head out. Some conditions can make skiing dangerous: 大雪 (ōyuki, a lot of snow), 霰 (arare, soft hail/snow pellets), 雹 (hyō, hail) and 霙 (mizore, sleet) can ruin your runs, but mostly you’ll need to watch out for 吹雪 (fubuki, blizzards).

理想的に、パウダースノーがあって、ちょっと風花が舞っている。だが、晴れている日によって湿り雪があるかもしれない。あるいは、非常に寒い天気によってアイスバーンがあるかもしれない (Risōteki ni, paudāsunō ga atte, chotto kazabana ga matte-iru. Da ga, harete-iru hi ni yotte shimeriyuki ga aru kamo shirenai. Arui wa, hijō ni samui tenki ni yotte aisubān ga aru kamo shirenai, Ideally, there will be powder snow, and a bit of a snow flurry [literally, a winter wind that brings scattered snow dancing in the air]. However, there could be moist snow due to sunny days. Or, there could be “ice burn” [snow frozen on its surface] due to extremely cold weather).

So long as you keep safety top of mind, there are countless pleasures to a Japanese ski trip — including unique cultural ones. 昼ごはんであつあつのカツカレーを食べたり、帰りには温泉を寄ったりして、やっぱり日本のスキーは最高だ！(Hiru-gohan de atsu-atsu no katsukarē o tabetari, kaeri ni wa onsen o yottari shite, yappari Nihon no sukī wa saikō da!, From eating piping hot cutlet-curries for lunch to dropping by a hot spring bath on the way back, skiing in Japan is certainly the best!)