Considerations to make before moving your family to snow country

To paraphrase a well-known quote, not all places to live in Japan are created equal. Having lived in both Tokyo and the deep snow country region of Niigata, I can tell you that there are different things you have to consider if you're bringing a family out to snowy, rural areas. Here are a few of my takeaways if you're moving out this way, too.

1. You're going to need a car.

In Tokyo, we lived without a car for the first year of our four year stint, and to be honest we probably could have survived the whole time without it, pre-kids. In Niigata during snow season it's a different story. Yes, our town is small, and it's a delight when the weather is nice and we can get around everywhere on foot or by bike. Try doing your groceries, paying your bills, or getting your kids to school sans-car when the snow is just belting down, and you're all going to be miserable. My husband and I found it easy enough to switch over our US/Aussie licenses (there's a step-by-step guide here on City-Cost from YokoLostInJapan), and it's made our lives infinitely easier. Plus, it opens up a lot of sightseeing opportunities that you just might not be able to do with public transport only.

Note: Please, for safety's sake, read up on driving in the snow. It presents some different challenges to normal-weather driving, and it's worth knowing these ahead of time! Also, snow tires are your friend!

You don't want to be walking around doing all your errands in this weather, I promise you.

2. Understand that your utilities will skyrocket in winter

Our house is a 70's build, and without any euphemisms, it's drafty as eff. A lot of the houses out here are older, because who needs to build more when just about everyone heads out to urban areas eventually anyway. It would probably be different if I didn't have children - there would be times where I'd probably just throw on my winter jacket and sit around at home when the inside temp feels no different to the outside temp. We try and keep the house as warm as is reasonable though, and that means our winter bills are a little scary to look at sometimes. Budget for this.

3. Make sure you have proper winter gear.

You're going to be miserable out here too if you don't dress for the conditions, which means appropriate footwear (we live in rain boots and snow boots at this time of year), thick waterproof jackets, and lots of layers. If you're a size outside the average Japanese standard, I highly recommend picking up stuff in your home country before you come - it will save you a lot of frustration! We ordered our kids snow boots on Amazon Japan this year, and snow suits for the kiddos are available at places like AEON Mall - you shouldn't have any trouble finding them if you're visiting a mall in a snowy region of Japan!