Yuzawa Now: Friday 26th January 2024
- Jan 26, 2024
- 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 429cm
Posted on Friday 26th January 2024 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here.
There has been another 19cm since yesterday morning, with over half of that during the day yesterday. The only 'new snowfall' number being reported this morning by a ski area is 20cm by Yuzawa Kogen.
The snowfall added to this report means that we have been able to report 92cm of fresh in town over the last three days, which is really great, and there will have been more snow than that are higher elevations.
Official snow depth numbers are now looking a bit closer to normal. There's some noticeable snow walls by the side of roads. Ski areas will be happy. People visiting them should be happy too! :)
Interesting thing, though: while this is definitely more like the kind of Yuzawa we know and love, it has not really been one of those 'totally full-on and overwhelming mad snow' kind of storms that we have been known to get. But let's leave that conversation for another time. For now, it is time to enjoy all this fresh snow!
Unfortunately, it looks like Kagura is going to be closed again today due to wind. The somewhat unclear message seems to be that the Tashiro Area of Kagura is definitely going to be closed for the day, and the other areas are closed... though it is unclear if they might open. [Update: All of Kagura is closed for the day].
Other ski areas are opening, though there might be some slower lifts or delays. (Maiko Snow Resort, in particular, mentioning that possibility).
It is snowing lightly this morning and it might continue on and off through the day. It's quite windy out there too with the snow being blown around.
There may even be some snow falling into tomorrow too, though some forecasts are hinting at the chance of some clearer skies at times too.
Most important thing - even if the sun comes out, let's hope the temps remain low.
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Note that due to the snowfall over the last several days there is a JMA (Japan Meteorological Agency) avalanche warning out for the Yuzawa area at the moment, in effect until tomorrow.
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Kagura ski area is in an apologetic mode about the fact that recently, it has had to be closed or partly closed due to wind and various mechanical/electrical issues with lifts. Enough to have some special offers available this weekend, including a free 'soft drink bar' ticket if you spend more than 1000 yen at Restaurant Kagura or Wadagoya.
Perhaps more exciting than that for many is if you buy a full-price one-day ticket (on Saturday or Sunday), they'll give you a voucher that lets you purchase a one-day ticket for just 1,000 yen - valid on any weekday between 1st and 30th April 2024. I think those details are correct. It sounds like they might have been getting some grief. While they can't do much about weather stuff, hopefully, there won't be so many issues during the rest of the season.
Anyway, if you are heading up tomorrow or Sunday, you can check at the ski area. With the snow of the last few days, expect it to be busy!
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GALA Yuzawa
Official snow depth: 190cm
The Northern Area connection with Ishiuchi Maruyama is available
The Southern Area connection with Yuzawa Kogen is available
Ishiuchi Maruyama
Official snow depth: 160cm
The connection with the Northern Area of GALA Yuzawa is available
Night skiing until 8:00pm
Iwappara
Official snow depth: 120cm
Night skiing until 7:00pm
Joetsu Kokusai
Official snow depth: 170cm (top)
Night skiing until 8:30pm
Kagura
Official snow depth: 180cm (top), 130cm (base)
Kandatsu Snow Resort
Official snow depth: 130cm
Night skiing until 2:00am (tomorrow morning)
Maiko Snow Resort
Fresh snowfall (reported by the ski area): ?cm
Official snow depth: 180cm (top), 80cm (lower)
Muikamachi Hakkaisan
Official snow depth: 260cm (top), 120cm (base)
Naeba
Official snow depth: 120cm (top), 70cm (base)
Night skiing until 8:30pm
See our Naeba Now report
NASPA Ski Garden
Official snow depth: 145cm
Yuzawa Kogen
Fresh snowfall (reported by the ski area): about 20cm
Official snow depth: 140cm (top), 70cm (base)
The connection with the Southern Area of GALA Yuzawa is available
Yuzawa Nakazato Snow Resort
Official snow depth: 120cm
Yuzawa Park
Official snow depth: 120cm
Yuzawa Now 2023-2024 season |
Data as of Friday 26th January 2024 Total snowfall at base so far 429cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 23 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 55cm (23rd December) November 2023 snowfall 14cm reported on 2 days December 2023 snowfall 137cm reported on 9 days January 2024 snowfall 278cm reported on 12 days |
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.