Myoko Now: Friday 6th November 2026
After a rainy summer, and one snowfall that extended down to about 1,300 meters, it’s a beautiful, sunny, late-autumn day. There’s still a little touch of autumn color down below base level, but the trees around Mt. Myoko are bare and ready for that first, wet, heavy snow (perhaps tomorrow night, or around the 10th or 11th?).
I do like to write something when that first snow hits the peaks, but, first, your correspondent was doing his summer work duty and wandering through neighboring Nagano, and, second, I don’t want to overly stoke your fiery skiing hearts. Locals know that the first snow is an, oh, that’s nice but it’ll be gone soon moment. The mechanized warfare that is winter in Myoko (another very local viewpoint) will be here soon enough.
So time to put out bamboo wands so we know where our driveway are, and to wrap up the hydrangeas that are a symbol around here (although winter guests never see them), trees, stone lanterns in the parks—anything that will get crushed or displaced by the (hopefully) heavy snow.
Not too much to report about most of the mountain; most resorts are ready to go, with a few minor improvements here and there. Lots of distress in the Japanese online ski community about Suginohara’s decisions arising from the construction of the new luxury hotel right in the middle of the main parking lot. There is no single-area season pass anymore; parking is now limited to something like 300 spots and it will be all-pay, all the time. All this doesn’t matter so much for inbound guests, but the oft-repeated refrain by the domestic crowd is, they don’t want Japanese anymore. Which is something to consider, I think (and we all remember the end of the Japanese ski bubble). As the recent US elections show, even major movements do come to an end (and thus ends my first-ever politically flavored post!).
The other thing people wonder about, of course, is snowfall in an El Niño year. When asked, my response is, yeah, that is a good question. The height of praying mantis nests on the branches don’t help (an old folk prediction source). The fact that it was really rainy all summer doesn’t rule out good snowfall, either; several years ago during a wet summer we all thought that there wouldn’t be enough water left for snow, but those Siberian winds did pick up plenty of moisture over the Sea of Japan.
Just remember (and, man, there were a lot of inquiries about this): the ski areas open, if possible, in mid-December. There is no backcountry skiing in early December—we don’t have an Alpine zone here! It’s all done in those beautiful birch and beech trees, with saplings and vines that need a lot of continuous snow to beat down into submission.
Be patient, dear sliders; think Christmas to be safe for sufficient snow at the areas, with off-piste not really ready until mid-January.
Stay tuned; I’ll be back when we get that promised, wet, branch-breaking November snow!
Myoko Now2026-2027 season |
Data as of Friday 6th November 2026 Myoko Now overview Myoko Now 2026-2027 season Total snowfall at base so far 0cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 0 days |