Hakuba Now: Saturday 2nd May 2026
- May 2
- 3 min read
Updated: May 6
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Hakuba region of Nagano
New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 339cm
Posted on Saturday 2nd May 2026 This is an archived report. The latest Hakuba Now report can be found here.
Good morning from Hakuba.
The sun is out and it's a bright morning but we do expect some windy conditions.
Hakuba Goryu ski area announced that it will only be able to remain open until tomorrow, Sunday 3rd May. Wednesday is too much of a stretch.
From Monday, the only ski lift operating in the region will be at Tsugaike. And Tsugaike appears intent on remaining open until the planned closing date of Wednesday 6th May. On Facebook this morning, and indeed on their 'news' page, they say there is on average 123cm of snow on the top run that remains open. However, on the index page of their website, they say the snow depth up top is 39cm. I don't know how to explain that, but they seem intent - and indeed able - to remain open until Wednesday.
There's some heavy rain due later tomorrow into Monday.
-----
10:30am update:
Tsugaike is closed today due to strong winds (hashtag: footbath).
Goryu is... it appears, also closed. Or not open. On standby. Or something. I have tried but cannot find any specific info other than (at 10:30am) the lifts showing as on standby on the website, and I can't see anyone on the webcams and the lift isn't moving.
So... no skiing or snowboarding for us this morning? Probably. Or maybe. Let's guess!
A plea to ski areas:
Please (please!) put more effort into providing clear and timely information for your paying customers. Please. Why is it seemingly so difficult?
I feel the need for a 5+ month rest from all this!
;)
--------------------------------
ABLE Hakuba Goryu
Official snow depth:
Top: 35cm
Base: 0cm
Current status and planned closing date:
Gondola and Alps Number 1 pair lift operating
Panorama course
All other lifts and courses now closed
You need to take the gondola back down to base
Adjusted closing date:
Sunday 3rd May
------------
Tsugaike Mountain Resort
Official snow depth:
Upper: 39cm (though they say there's over 100cm on the open ski course)
Base: 0cm
Current status:
Limited top run open
You need to take the gondola back down to base
Planned closing date:
Wednesday 6th May
Hakuba Now2025-2026 season |
Data as Saturday 2nd May 2026 Total snowfall at base so far 339cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 47 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 24cm (on 25th January) November 2025 snowfall 2cm reported on 1 day December 2025 snowfall 98cm reported on 12 days January 2026 snowfall 181cm reported on 22 days February 2026 snowfall 56cm reported on 10 days March 2026 snowfall 2cm reported on 2 days April 2026 snowfall 0cm reported on 0 days May 2026 snowfall 0cm |
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.