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Nozawa Now: Tuesday 31st January 2023

  • Jan 31, 2023
  • 2 min read

Independent snow and weather reporting from the Nozawa Onsen region of Nagano


New snowfall at base 28cm
Snowfall at base this season 489cm

Posted on Tuesday 31st January 2023 This is an archived report. The latest Nozawa Now report can be found here.


Lots of snow again since yesterday, mostly coming in from early afternoon through the night.


The ski area is reporting some really varied numbers (see below) and the nearby JMA weather station clocked up 19cm over the last 24 hours. My measurement is 28cm.


It is still snowing lightly this morning, but I can just about see the shape of the sun behind a cloud too from time to time. It might get clearer today. One thing is (surely for) sure... excellent snow conditions.


There's some more heavy snow due tomorrow night, though the day is expected to start off early on with some sun.


There seem to have been quite a few backcountry/off-limit area incidents over the last week or so - not only here in Nozawa, but other regions including Hakuba, Myoko and Niseko. With that milder period and then sudden heavy snowfall, perhaps the instability of snow and increased chances of these happening is to be expected. Take care out there everyone. It is not worth losing your life.


Fresh snowfall reported by the ski area at 7am (since yesterday morning):

- Yamabiko: 57cm (*since 3pm number)

- Uenotaira: 23cm

- Hikage: 38cm

- Nagasaka: 48cm

- Karasawa: 23cm


Official snow depth numbers (reported by the ski area):

- Yamabiko: 275cm

- Uenotaira: 215cm

- Hikage: 190cm

- Nagasaka: 190cm

- Karasawa: 135cm


All lifts now normally operating except these lifts:

- Mizunashi triple

- Yunomine pair

- Karasawa pair

- Challenge pair (usually closed on weekdays)

- Utopia pair (usually closed on weekdays)


All courses are now open except the following:

- Yunimine A

- Challenge 39

- Grandprix

- Kandahar (restrictions)

- Kamoshika


Planned night skiing (Nagasaka quad):

- Every Saturday until 25th March 2023



Nozawa Now 2022-2023 season

Data as of Tuesday 31st January 2023 Total snowfall at base 489cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 34 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 62cm (25th January) November 2022 snowfall 0cm December 2022 snowfall 101cm reported on 13 days January 2023 snowfall 388cm reported on 21 days




All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Nozawa Onsen. 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.


SnowJapan is an entirely independent operation. Our daily reports are not posted on behalf of ski areas or any other business or organisation. Since first going online in 1999, the integrity of this website has always been our top priority, and it is something we are not prepared to compromise. All content is carefully created and written by humans who share a passion for the subject and what SnowJapan stands for.



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