Remaining Snow Resembles White Horse, Signaling Spring in Gifu Pref.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:39 JST, April 25, 2025

A man plows a field in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, on Thursday in front of Mt. Kasagatake, on which snow forms the shape of a white horse. The shape used to symbolize the start of the rice farming season in the area. For a while each year, as the winter snow melts, what remains on the side of this 2,898-meter peak in the Northern Japan Alps takes the shape of a horse looking backward. According to an 80-year-old farmer in the city, the head of the horse became clearly visible at the beginning of this week, so he began plowing his paddy on Thursday. “I want to work hard to make delicious rice,” he said eagerly.