Hakuba Now: Sunday 12th April 2020
- Apr 12, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 18, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Hakuba region of Nagano
New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 223cm
Posted on Sunday 12th April 2020 This is an archived report. The latest Hakuba Now report can be found here.
Good morning from Hakuba.
I wasn't planning on a report this morning, but I have important news.
Today is going to be the last day of the season for Hakuba 47 and Hakuba Goryu.
They are saying that with the snow on the slopes down to base getting thin on the ground, narrow and close to closing, people would be needing to get the gondola lifts back down to base. Increased congestion due to people waiting for the gondola is not ideal.
Some may well be disappointed.
Some are happy and relieved to hear that decision being made.
So, this all means that today is officially the last day of the season here in Hakuba.
It also means that my reporting is also effectively over for the season.
Here's a final message to end the season.
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Today is the last day of the season for Hakuba 47 and Hakuba Goryu.
From tomorrow, no ski areas in the region will be open.
Yesterday I spent some time writing lots of words as a season wrap-up. But I have decided to scrap that. I have written billions of words since November in my reports. Well, maybe not quite so many. They are all there. You can go read them at any time. They tell the story of the season.
So I am going to make this last post relatively short.
What a season it has been.
Alas, it has not been the amazing season that we all yearn for and has been punctuated by two major things going on - the low levels of snowfall and then the coronavirus.
From the viewpoint of covering the season by writing these reports in a morning morning, it feels like it has been an ongoing struggle throughout the season. I imagine more than a few other people involved have similar feelings. So let me just say a big thank you and well done to all of the people working at the ski areas and related services and dealing with everything. I hope that you can get to have a rest.
Taking a look at the official snowfall data. Happo-one reported over 8m of snowfall and the other resorts reported around 6m of snowfall on their upper slopes. It has not been as consistent as we would have liked, but I have been able to enjoy some great days on the mountain. There have been periods of excellent conditions. I hope that if you did get to visit Hakuba this season you were able to enjoy good timing in terms of snow conditions and that you could enjoy getting to know this lovely place.
As always, there was much more snow on the mountain than down in base areas. But this year there was clearly less than we expect and some lower slopes have been really struggling throughout the season.
The snowfall situation has not been just a Hakuba thing - it has been a most-of-Japan thing. Everyone is hopeful that this season was just strangely abnormal and that we can get back to more like what we expect for 2020-2021.
And then came coronavirus. The first thing we noticed was a decrease in visitors from overseas around the Chinese New Year period. And then it just got more of a thing, leading up to the early closures of Happo-one and then the other ski areas a few days ago.
It is going to feel odd to not be writing Hakuba Now reports right through until the end of Golden Week in early May.
But sadly, not much feels normal right now.
Some things do remain constant though:
- the stunning beauty of Hakuba
- the very fine people of Hakuba
- Japan is ace
Like everyone else, I am so much looking forward to hearing brighter news regarding the virus and then hopefully we can have a normal 2020-2021 season with consistent snow and lots of happy smiles.
I choose to believe that.
Thank you for reading my reports this season and for following the season through all the ups and downs. You can re-visit the season at any time by reading the archive reports below.
I will be back with you in November.
For now, I am going to sign off.
Take care.
Love Hakuba.
Hakuba Now 2019-2020 season |
Data as of Sunday 12th April 2020 Total snowfall at base so far 223cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 41 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 16cm (5th January) November 2019 snowfall 4cm reported on 1 day December 2019 snowfall 28cm reported on 8 days January 2020 snowfall 70cm reported on 13 days February 2020 snowfall 73cm reported on 9 days March 2020 snowfall 46cm reported on 9 days April 2020 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day |
All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Hakuba. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report.