by Claire O'Neill

Every winter in Japan's northern prefectures, snow monsters gather on the mountains for their yearly, um, summit.

Snow monsters!
Enlarge Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images

Snow monsters!

Snow monsters!
Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images

Snow monsters!

The term in Japanese actually translates roughly to "frost-covered trees," which is what they are — a popular tourist phenomenon in Japan's ski resorts. We found these 2007 photos on our news wires and couldn't resist sharing. Have you ever seen snow monsters?

  • Coniferous trees such as the Aomori white fir lie covered with crystallized ice and snow — described as "silver frost" or "snow monsters" at Zao Ski Resort, one of Japan's oldest and most popular ski destinations.
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    Coniferous trees such as the Aomori white fir lie covered with crystallized ice and snow — described as "silver frost" or "snow monsters" at Zao Ski Resort, one of Japan's oldest and most popular ski destinations.
    Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images/Getty Images
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    Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images
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    Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images
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    Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images
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    Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images
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    Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images

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Also, here's another photo you'll get if you search "Japan" and "snow." Just saying.

A couple from the Czech Republic bathe with a macaque in Nagano, central Japan, in January.
Enlarge Hiro Komae/AP

A couple from the Czech Republic bathe with a macaque in Nagano, central Japan, in January.

A couple from the Czech Republic bathe with a macaque in Nagano, central Japan, in January.
Hiro Komae/AP

A couple from the Czech Republic bathe with a macaque in Nagano, central Japan, in January.