They are harmless but I still like to keep a fair distance away.

There are a number of species of snakes in Japan. Most of them are non venomous. Hakuba has a lot of rice fields which breeds insects which brings frogs which inturn brings snakes.  Coming from Australia I have a natural fear of them however the Japanese don’t seem to worry too much about them at all. Elaphe quadrivirgata, the Japanese Four-lined Ratsnake, or Japanese Striped Snake (Japanese: shimahebi = striped snake) is a non-venomous snake native to Japan. It is found in all areas of the country apart from the Ryukyu Islands. It typically grows to a length of 1-1.5 meters. The snake has yellow or light brown ground color, and gets its name from the four black lengthwise stripes sported by most of the species.  It feeds on a variety of prey items, including frogs, lizards, insects, rodents, as well as birds and their eggs. In winter time they hibernate so there is no worrying about skiing over them.