SIDECOUNTRY – We’re seeing 30% more sidecountry search and rescue incidents per year in Hokkaido. More foreigners get into trouble in the sidecountry. Getting lost is the main cause of sidecountry search and rescue callouts. More foreigners get injured in the sidecountry.

BACKCOUNTRY – There are fewer backcountry search and rescue callouts. More Japanese are involved in backcountry search and rescue incidents – bad weather and getting lost cause most Japanese callouts.

OTHER WINTER ALPINE ACTIVITIES – Greater numbers of Japanese tend to get into trouble – getting lost is a major cause. More people die doing non-skiing winter mountaineering than than any other activity.

IMPORTANT – There’s no data about how many people are going into the backcountry/sidecountry. This makes incident rate calculations impossible – that is, it’s impossible to infer who is more at risk.