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We went through Iiyama the other day on the way to the Nozawa Fire Festival and there was barely 10cm on the fields in Iiyama itself. It was almost laughable because Nagano local news have a habit of going to Iiyama whenever there's a big storm. They interview locals who give it the old "taihen! taihen!". Its not the only place where it can snow a lot, but its as if Iiyama has been designated as the tv's official snow zone.

 

The fire festival was also a bit weird this time. It was stopped just after starting because huge billows of smoke were coming out of the "castle". Everyone got out, the whole thing was hosed down, and then the battle was allowed to start again. Its takes the shine off when you know its soaking wet.

 

Conditions seem pretty good on the hills, but there's not been a lot of snow lower down this year. It's very noticable.

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  • SnowJapan Admin

I remember those few weeks in December and January last season. There was just so much snow around it was pretty wild. I was having to move well over 50cm of snow off my car pretty much every day for a perdiod of a week or so. This year I haven't even had to do that once - the most has been about 20cm and that was just the once. This year really is easily the least snow I have seen since I came here. But - got to keep hoping!

 

On the local news here in Niigata they often use Tsunan as the "snow depth town" (like they do Iiyama in Nagano - actually they are very close to each other). After the problems they had last year with too much snow over there, lots of the people being interviewed are happy because of the relative lack of snow this time round. More and more though you are getting interviews with ski resort people on the news, getting more and more worried by the week. One guy who owns a hotel the other night said he had almost 'given up' on this season, with the number of guests at his place at less than 50% the numbers from last year. Another ski-jo guy said the season there might be over 'by the end of February'. \:\(

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We just don't seem to be able to be getting any half decent dumps of snow. I live in Muikamachi and there are some rice fields behind where I live. They have just a thin coating of snow, one of them has no snow on it.

 

The other thing about this winter is it just doesn't feel very wintery. It is not cold enough, and doesn't feel like it is going to dump tons of snow on us.

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I went looking for the above vending machine yesterday evening. I couldn't find it - seems it has gone. But 20 metres or so up the same road there are some more vending machines. And here they are.

 

vending.jpg

 

That photo really was taken yesterday evening.

eek.gif

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big-will, it's a road somewhere in the area between Yuzawa station and Gala Yuzawa, near Yuzawa elementary school.

 

 Quote:
it looks like snow just hits the ground and melts.
Unfortunately, something like that. \:\(
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Around Oishida, we still have complete snow cover where it has been left or placed. Where it has been cleared is free of snow. Most people around here are pretty happy about that.

 

This is our Oishida car park and our neighbour's beautiful house.

soubriquet_132.jpg

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Last year was a bit special, but so is this year -- 2 extremes. But I think usual the phone will have a few meters of snow around it so last year is more 'usual' than last year I think. Whether you can usually enter or not I don't know. (Last year the snow all came at once)

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