Yamagata, Japan, Feb. 5, 2012: The “snow monsters,” or “juhyo” in Japanese, at the top of Mount Zao in Yamagata, Japan, are actually windswept, snow-covered trees. The formation of the thick frost and snow covered “monsters” only occurs under exceptionally rare atmospheric conditions, when persistent and strong winds carry supercooled water droplets that freeze on contact with the native Aomori todomatsu trees, gradually layering on the thick frosty coat.

Plan to see the monsters yourself? Be sure to read Stars and Stripes’ Nathan Bailey’s 2012 account on what not to do.