Yuzawa Now: Monday 26th January 2026
- Jan 26
- 4 min read
Updated: 10 hours ago
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata
New snowfall at base 46cm
Snowfall at base this seas 639cm
Posted on Monday 26th January 2026 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here.
Snow clouds stuck around all yesterday and are still over us this morning. I am very pleased to report another (total) 46cm of snowfall since yesterday morning. Over the last 24 hours it looks like the snowfall was concentrated right over Yuzawa town and to the south in Minakami and neighbouring towns in Gunma.
The current early morning light snow is expected to stop sometime this morning and we will probably get some sunshine tomorrow morning. Beyond tomorrow there's more snow on the weekly forecasts; looks promising.
Needless to say, after all this fresh snow, conditions should be pretty great everywhere.
In the end, over the last week we have gone from there being a below-average amount of snow around to what now looks much more like 'normal'. Large icicles included! (First time noticed this season). This makes me happy. Moving forward, what would be perfect would be if we could get into a pattern of regular snowfall, with some clearer skies from time to time, and temperatures remaining cold. That until the end of March. ;)
Official snow depth numbers published by ski areas are looking much improved, too, though some I think are lagging behind on updates. I'm a bit early today, too.
I'd love to know how much snow there's been up at Kagura the last week or so. Alas, as noted perhaps too frequently (sorry), the don't consistently say and most ski areas are quiet about those numbers. Oh well.
Regarding our own measurements, at the end of January 2025, 638cm of snowfall had been recorded in these Yuzawa Now reports.
As of this morning, that number is 639cm.
A significant improvement in the last week.
It's going to be fun to see how the rest of the season shapes up. February last year was pretty mad.
Oh yes, GALA Yuzawa made an announcement about the Southern Area at that ski area. There needs to be enough snow and various preparations/patrol be ready for it to open... and apparently there're not quite there yet. Hopefully soon! I'll let you know when there's any news.
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GALA Yuzawa
Official snow depth (reported by ski area):
280cm
Notes:
The Central Area and Northern Area (including the downhill course and connection with Ishiuchi Maruyama) are open
The Southern Area and Ropeway connection with Yuzawa Kogen are not yet open
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Ishiuchi Maruyama
Official snow depth (reported by ski area):
240cm
Notes:
The top connection with the Northern Area of GALA Yuzawa is now open
Daily floodlit night skiing until 28th February and then Fridays and Saturdays until 28th March (until 8:00pm)
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Iwappara
Official snow depth (reported by ski area):
170cm
Notes:
Daily floodlit night skiing until 28th March (until 7:00pm on weekdays and Sundays, until 8:00pm on Saturdays and nights before holidays)
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Joetsu Kokusai
Official snow depth (reported by ski area):
220cm
Notes:
Daily floodlit night skiing until 22nd March (until 9:00pm)
The Atema and Osawa base car parks (and associated runs) are scheduled to be open on weekends only
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Kagura
Official snow depth:
Top: 220cm
Base: 170cm
Notes:
Status unclear this morning
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Kandatsu Snow Resort
Official snow depth:
195cm
Notes:
Floodlit night skiing on Fridays, Saturdays and nights before holidays until 28th March (until 2:00am the next morning)
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Maiko Snow Resort
Official snow depth:
270cm
Notes:
Floodlit night skiing on Saturdays and Sundays until 14th March (until 8:00pm on Saturdays and 7:00pm on Sundays)
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Muikamachi Hakkaisan
Official snow depth:
Top: 330cm
Base: 210cm
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Naeba
Official snow depth:
Top: 200cm
Base: 170cm
Notes:
Daily floodlit night skiing until 21st March (until 8:30pm)
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NASPA Ski Garden
Official snow depth:
210cm
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Yuzawa Kogen
Official snow depth:
Top: 180cm
Base: 80cm
Notes:
The upper Kogen area and base area are both open
The Ropeway connection with the Southern Area of GALA Yuzawa is not yet open
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Yuzawa Nakazato Snow Resort
Official snow depth:
160cm
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Yuzawa Park
Official snow depth:
160cm
Yuzawa Now2025-2026 season |
Data as of Monday 26th January 2026 Total snowfall at base so far 639cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 28 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 68cm (on 25th January) November 2025 snowfall 12cm reported on 1 day December 2025 snowfall 144cm reported on 9 days January 2026 snowfall 483cm reported on 18 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.