UONUMA, Niigata--While intense summer heat with temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius continues for consecutive days in this central Japan prefecture of Niigata, it's possible to find a spot up in the mountains where there's snow year-round, making it not just cool, but cold.... About 45 minutes later, we were at the year-round snow field.... While the mountain slopes were covered with snow, one could also sense a touch of spring: heaps of butterbur sprouts springing up from the snow melting u