Yuzawa Now: Monday 14th December 2020
- Dec 14, 2020
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata
New snowfall at base 1cm
Snowfall at base this seas 1cm
Posted on Monday 14th December 2020 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here.
I had flashbacks of last season overnight when I was woken by heavy rain on the roof. But it has turned to snow and the forecast is still looking really good. (Phew!)
So let's go back to yesterday. Wet down below but snow falling at higher elevations and it creeping down to nearly town level. It was good to see the GALA Yuzawa and Yuzawa Kogen webcams turn white.
This morning Kagura is reporting 10cm of snowfall, and they are opening up some more courses - the Gondola Line and Family Course are now available.
When I got up this morning it was still raining down here in town, but it has gradually been turning into snow. As you can see from the images below, there's a thin covering of snow on the slopes of NASPA Ski Garden which is close to town. I was just over there and it is snowing quite nicely now.
There's no snow sticking yet along Route 17 as you can see from the webcam image below but I imagine within a short time it will be looking whiter.
I am celebrating the first snow down here with a 1cm in this report to get us going.
The forecasts are still looking great for snow throughout the week.
By tomorrow we should be into proper decent snowfall and the numbers will begin piling up (as my friend said in another report this morning). With the snow arriving and a lot going on, there will be a lot to check each morning so apologies if the reports are a bit later in the coming days.
From today, additional photos are being added to the report which will hopefully give you a good idea of how things are going. All, of course, with permission. See below.
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Coronavirus in Japan
Compared to many countries, Japan appears to have managed to keep its number of (official confirmed) cases relatively low and without any major ‘lockdowns’. Still, coronavirus has overwhelmingly been the major issue of the year and has had a profound impact on many people and businesses. Hospitality and tourism are two of the areas that have been hit particularly hard hit, with the Go To campaign providing a certain amount of relief for some.
In recent weeks, the number of confirmed cases announced in the country every day has increased to around 2500-3000, in what is being labelled the third wave. Let us all hope that we might soon see a decrease in the numbers again and do what we can to help that happen.
How ski areas in Japan are dealing and measures being taken
Correct information on coronavirus is of course important and we encourage everyone to keep up to date with information from trusted sources.
We also encourage people intending to visit a ski area in Japan to take on all relevant advice and requests being asked of visitors. While there is understandably a sense of unease along with a bunch of unknowns as we start the winter season, most ski areas in Japan plan to be opening and are implementing various measures to try and minimise the potential for infections.
Actual measures and requests vary but generally include limiting the number of people riding gondola cabins, ropeways and multiple-person ski lifts; wearing masks and face coverings; using hand sanitisers; practising social distancing and avoiding queues.
Some ski areas are resting various ski lifts for the season, though in many such cases that will not affect the amount of terrain that is available to skiers and snowboarders.
There are a small number of ski areas that have decided to not open at all this winter – some citing coronavirus, some citing a lack of snowfall in recent years… some mentioning both.
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Kagura
Operating lifts:
- Mitsumata Ropeway (7:30am until 4:30pm)
- Mitsumata Number 1 quad lift (7:30am until 2:30pm)
- Mitsumata Number 2 romance lift (7:45am until 4:00pm)
- Kagura Gondola (7:45am until 3:45pm)
- Kagura Number 1 romance lift (9:00am until 3:00pm)
- Kagura Number 1 high speed lift (8:00am until 3:00pm)
Courses open:
- Kagura main course (1,500m)
- Gondola Line
- Family Course
- Official snow depth: 40cm
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Planned opening dates for ski areas in the region
Below are the planned opening dates of ski areas in Yuzawa and Minamiuonuma. All are of course subject to change.
Currently part open:
- Kagura (via Mitsumata)
As soon as there is enough snow
- GALA Yuzawa (earliest Tuesday)
- Joetsu Kokusai
- Kagura (via Tashiro)
Friday 18th December 2020
- Ishiuchi Maruyama
- Maiko Snow Resort
Saturday 19th December 2020
- Kandatsu Snow Resort
- Naeba
- Nakazato Snow Wood
- Yuzawa Kogen
- Yuzawa Nakazato
Thursday 24th December 2020
- Iwappara
- NASPA Ski Garden
Friday 25th December 2020
- Ipponsugi
- Muica Snow Resort
- Muikamachi Hakkaisan
- Yuzawa Park
Saturday 26th December 2020
- Chateau Shiozawa
- Hakkai Sanroku
- Itsukamachi
Late December
- Mt Granview
Closed during the 2020-2021 winter season
- Ishiuchi Hanaoka
Yuzawa Now 2020-2021 season |
Data as of Monday 14th December 2020 Total snowfall at base so far 1cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 1 day Most snowfall observed in 1 day 1cm (14th December) November 2020 snowfall 0cm December 2020 snowfall 1cm 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 Yuzawa. 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.