Yuzawa Now: Wednesday 1st January 2025
- Jan 1, 2025
- 4 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata
New snowfall at base 19cm
Snowfall at base this seas 371cm
Posted on Wednesday 1st January 2025 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here.
Good morning from Yuzawa.
And a Happy New Year to all readers and friends of SnowJapan. Kotoshi mo yoroshiku ne!
After the fine start to the day yesterday, we did eventually get some yucky rain in town. But the good news this morning is the 19cm of fresh snowfall to report from Yuzawa and 14cm at our point to the north in Minamiuonuma.
Maiko Snow Resort, the only ski area that is regularly talking about it, is reporting 20-30cm of fresh snowfall this morning. (It continues to be a real head-scratcher to us why more ski areas don't talk about fresh snow numbers; at the same time admitting that we are very geeky on that stuff!)
It is snowing at varying rates this morning but might clear up somewhat by this afternoon. Some local forecasts give us a good chance of getting some clearer skies.
The next few days looks like it might be an unpredictable mix of cloud, light snow at times and perhaps some clearer skies too. (Biggest New Year hope: just stay cold please, and no rain!)
Looks like wind and weather in general might be affecting a few lifts at Kagura early this morning, with the pair lift taking over from the quad on the main Kagura run. Today is the day when the Kagura Number 5 lift and BC gate are scheduled to be opening for the season at Kagura, but as of 8:30am we cannot find confirmed information on the status on that. Presumably, if the top quad isn't running...
Happy to report that the Sunrise Express gondola at Ishiuchi Maruyama is back operating this morning.
Hopefully, the lift and course connections between Yuzawa Kogen, GALA Yuzawa and Ishiuchi Maruyama will be opening as scheduled on Friday.
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Ski area information for Wednesday 1st January 2025
The information below is manually checked with official sources and updated for every report.
Ski areas in Yuzawa and Minamiuonuma listed in alphabetical order. All information is subject to change.
GALA Yuzawa
Official snow depth (reported by ski area):
320cm
The Northern Area connection with Ishiuchi Maruyama should be available from 3rd January
The Southern Area and connection with Yuzawa Kogen should be available from 3rd January
Ishiuchi Maruyama
Official snow depth (reported by ski area):
260cm
The connection with the Northern Area of GALA Yuzawa (Buggy lift) should be available from 3rd January
Night skiing is planned for Fridays, Saturdays and holidays (until 8:00pm)
Iwappara
Official snow depth (reported by ski area):
135cm
Night skiing is planned daily (until 7:00pm on weekdays and Sundays; until 8:00pm on Saturdays and nights before holidays)
Joetsu Kokusai
Official snow depth (reported by ski area):
240cm
Night skiing is planned daily until 9:00pm
Kagura
Official snow depth:
Top: 300cm
Base: 270cm
Kandatsu Snow Resort
Official snow depth:
245cm
Night skiing is planned for Fridays, Saturdays and nights before holidays (until 2:00am the following morning)
Maiko Snow Resort
Official snow depth:
Top: 270cm
Base: 125cm
Night skiing is planned in the Maiko Area over New Year (until 3rd Jan) and weekends from 4th January
Muikamachi Hakkaisan
Official snow depth:
Top: 350cm
Base: 170cm
Naeba (* Daily reports from here)
Official snow depth:
Top: 240cm
Base: 190cm
NASPA Ski Garden
Official snow depth:
260cm
Yuzawa Kogen
Official snow depth:
Top: 270cm
Top: 220cm
The connection with the Southern Area of GALA Yuzawa (Landau Ropeway) should be available from 3rd January
Yuzawa Nakazato Snow Resort
Official snow depth:
200cm
Yuzawa Park
Official snow depth:
225cm
Yuzawa Now 2024-2025 season |
Data as of Wednesday 1st January 2025 Total snowfall at base so far 371cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 21 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 55cm (28th December) November 2024 snowfall 0cm December 2024 snowfall 352cm reported on 20 days January 2025 snowfall 19cm 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.