Myoko Now: Sunday 9th April 2023
- Apr 9, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 6, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Myoko region of Niigata
New snowfall at base 8cm
Snowfall at base this season 1029cm
Posted on Sunday 9th April 2023 This is an archived report. The latest Myoko Now report can be found here.
As the forecast predicted, snow overnight in Myoko! The crazy season continues.... Not enough to change conditions on the slopes, really; they maybe got 10cm or a bit more up high, so it looks nice, anyway, even if you still can't ski down to the base at Akakan. There were a lot of bare spots at Seki Onsen, too, but I'm not sure what the conditions are. But there's still a day of skiing to be enjoyed; the sun is out; that snow did make things nice and white; and we even had the unusual sight of snow on some almost-open cherry blossoms around the base of the areas.
Just to repeat, here's the year-end report previously posted:
It's been an unusual season in many ways. We did see the return of international tourism, not to pre-covid levels yet, but there a lot of people did come and visit, despite pretty high airfare and the inconvenience (for European travelers in particular) of much longer flights due to the situation in Eastern Europe. So thanks to them for coming to visit!
Pretty low snow levels in January meant it was a tough to get out in the backcountry. Just a note to future visitors: don't expect to be able to get out in the backcountry until maybe mid-January, even in a good snow year. There's no real Alpine terrain here, so you need a lot of snow to cover all the small trees, vines and stuff that make up our summer jungle (and this is true for many of Japan's great backcountry destinations). It's not a problem in the resorts, of course - but even for the resorts, think Christmas Day to really be sure the runs will be open and all the lifts running.
There's been more international investment in the area, too, with two of the resorts now owned by non-Japanese companies, although the actual running of the areas was still handled by the existing domestic teams. Let's see what develops in the coming seasons; the main thing is that things are changing, as always. Hopefully (as I've often mentioned this season) they will be more proactive in using their websites to get information out earlier. The city does have a page that collects information, too, but many people will go directly to the resort's page first (why look at everything if you want to get specific information?), so they really should update their own site first. But many don't. And that is the end of that rant for the season.
And there's still skiing available, and I think spring is a great time to get out and enjoy a good slide. White snow and new green leaves; suntans and cold beverages.....
Akakura Kanko:
60cm, 0°
Myokokogen Sky Cable gondola and Hotel No. 3 lift (no longer possible to ski to the base)
Scheduled closing: Today
Akakura Onsen:
Closed
Ikenotaira Onsen Alpen Blick
Closed
Myoko Suginohara:
Closed
Seki Onsen:
180cm, no temp. info
Scheduled closing: Today
Kyukamura RunRun:
Closed
Tangram Madarao Tokyu Resort:
Closed
Madarao Mountain Resort:
Closed
Lotte Arai Resort
257cm, 8°
Arai Gondola, Zendana and Okenashi lifts
Scheduled closing: May 14
Kurohime Kogen Snow Park
Closed
Myoko Now 2022-2023 season |
Data as of Sunday 9th April 2023 Total snowfall at base so far 1029cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 57 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 66cm (21st February) November 2022 snowfall 0cm December 2022 snowfall 134cm reported on 19 days January 2023 snowfall 491cm reported on 19 days February 2023 snowfall 371cm reported on 15 days March 2023 snowfall 25cm reported on 3 days April 2023 snowfall 8cm 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 Myoko. 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.