Japan’s Winter Olympic team may compete under one flag, but it reflects a surprisingly wide mix of climates, regions and hometown cultures. With the Milano Cortina Games opening this weekend, one of the most intriguing questions isn’t just who made the team, but where in the country they come from.
Among the 120 athletes representing Japan at the Feb. 6-22 Games are competitors raised in some of the country’s snowiest landscapes, as well as others who grew up far from dependable winter conditions.
That contrast shows how geography and access still shape Japan’s winter sports pipeline, while also revealing how training environments, facilities and opportunity are steadily redrawing the map of where elite talent can emerge — often in places you might never have expected.
AloJapan.com