NIKAHO, Akita Prefecture—There are currently no pandas in the country’s zoos, but that hasn’t stopped some from enjoying their likeness in a view of Mount Chokai from the Nikaho Plateau here.

At the observation deck, tourists babbled excitedly about a pattern born of partially melted snow on the mountain’s northern slope, exclaiming, “It really does look like a panda’s face!” and “How cute!”

Mount Chokai, which straddles the border between Akita and Yamagata prefectures, rises to 2,236 meters. The combination of its remaining snow with gaps of exposed slopes creates a variety of patterns from spring to early summer.

The most famous of these snow patterns that is visible from the Shonai region of Yamagata Prefecture is of an old man bent over sowing seeds.

The figure has long served as a traditional marker for the start of farming season, signaling the time to prepare for rice planting.