Hakuba Now: Wednesday 6th May 2026
- May 6
- 5 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Hakuba region of Nagano
New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 339cm
Posted on Wednesday 6th May 2026 This is an archived report. The latest Hakuba Now report can be found here.
Hello from Hakuba.
Tsugaike did very well to keep open until today. There was even a sprinkling of fresh snow up there overnight into Tuesday morning. We have a fine morning to end the season.
It has been a season of lower-than-average snowfall, not only in my own observations - less snowfall in each month than last season - but also higher up in the mountains. Remember - my snowfall data comes from base areas, not the top of the mountains. I always try to include any reported snowfall from ski areas in my reports, though the snowfall reported by ski areas, unfortunately, isn't always timely or consistent.
Just remember to always look beyond the numbers.
While it might not have been a bumper season for snowfall, I really enjoyed the season and had some awesome mornings out on the slopes. (I'm not really an afternoon person; can't remember the last time I was still out there at the end of the day). We have so much quality choice in our 'Valley', it’s sometimes hard to choose where to go in a morning. That is definitely a good 'problem' to have!
I'm sure that many of our overseas visitors loved it, too. People I spoke with generally seemed very happy.
The fact that everything is becoming more expensive does not seem to have put them off, either, with record (inbound) numbers again at most ski areas. Ski areas are going all in on further focusing on catering to that market. Some would say they are doing that whilst increasingly looking away from local skiers and snowboarders. That is an ongoing trend at the big Japanese ski areas popular with overseas visitors, not just in Hakuba. I guess if revenues keep rising, it will continue.
I have mixed feelings about it all. I've got absolutely nothing against people/companies making money, but when things start becoming all about the money...
I have two personal wishes for the 2026-2027 season.
The first and obvious one is for a lot of consistent snowfall. A December like December 2024 would be a perfect start. Great early seasons like 2024-2025 not only set the tone for the season but also, importantly, give us a solid base. It would also be great if we only had to start thinking about 'spring' come late March, too. In March 2024, I reported an impressive 181cm snowfall (compared with just 2cm in March 2026), so March can still bring us the goods.
The other is that I hope ski areas put more effort into posting timely, clear information every day throughout the season. Some are better than others, for sure, but at times it can be really frustrating trying to work out what is going on every morning. Trying to quickly extract meaningful information from all the meaningless hashtags and self-promotion can be a real chore. I'm sure if I was managing a ski area, putting out clear info early each morning for my customers would be a high priority. It's not even as if that is a difficult or time-consuming thing to do, either. Let's have a service that matches the handsome lift ticket prices! I think we deserve it.
Another example of this is that in previous seasons, I shared the 'Total snowfall' data for the main ski areas that was/is published on the official Hakuba Valley website. This season that number seemed so clearly unreliable that I have refrained from mentioning it much. (A season total snowfall of just 322cm in the upper areas of Tsugaike? Really? That is not a serious number.)
I want to end on another positive note.
One thing that doesn't change is the magnificent beauty of our surroundings. After all these years, however gnarly I'm feeling when there's 20+cm of beautiful fresh snow to play in, I still often stop in my tracks for a few moments to take it all in. I always try to appreciate it and not take it for granted that I can live in such a wonderful location. Truly stunning.
That's all for the 2025-2026 season.
See you in November!
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A message from SnowJapan
This message is being published on each of our daily report pages and is not specific to Hakuba
The season is now over for all but a few ski areas, and the last of our daily reporting for 2025-2026 has been posted. I hope that our independent reporting has once again helped many people this past ski season. With our large and wide-reaching readership from every part of the world, we feel a real sense of responsibility for the information we publish.
A sincere thank you to the wonderful reporters who contribute to our daily reporting.
It has been another long season with more unique stories from around the country. A general Japan season wrap-up seems inappropriate, given the vast differences across the country's many mountainous regions. Still, I think it's fair to say that in most regions, 2025-2026 was not a top-tier classic for Japan in terms of snowfall.
But... that is comparing Japan with Japan – and, as we all know, that is a very high bar!
All being well, later this year, a from-the-ground-up new version of SnowJapan will replace the current site (which has been online since February 2022).
Work started on the new project over a year ago. I don't want to reveal details just yet, as there is still a lot of work to do and some things may change. The main goal of this renewal is to simplify and refine the site, keep things 'light', with a focus on improving core content and usability. It's a lot of work, but with all the foundations now largely in place, it is exciting to start seeing it all come together. Hopefully, the end result will work out as imagined.
It might be a shock to the system when the changeover happens, but not to worry - the basic concept and values that have guided SnowJapan since 1999 are still very much firmly in place.
The new site is expected to be ready by November 2026, and more information will be shared in late summer.
Hakuba Now2025-2026 season |
Data as Wednesday 6th 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.