Yuzawa Now: Sunday 28th December 2025
- Dec 28, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: 10 hours ago
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Yuzawa & Minamiuonuma region of Niigata
New snowfall at base 7cm
Snowfall at base this seas 156cm
Posted on Sunday 28th December 2025 This is an archived report. The latest Yuzawa Now report can be found here.
Good morning from Yuzawa.
We don't have what we would consider 'normal' (large) amounts of snow just yet, but there were some fine conditions to enjoy yesterday.
We have received several+ cm of fresh snow overnight and it has been lingering so far this morning but we expect the skies to clear up by this afternoon.
It is great to see almost every ski area in Yuzawa Town and Minamiuonuma City now open.
Every ski area in the region is either part open or mostly open (Kagura). The only exception appears to be Hakkai Sanroku which does not yet seem to be open.
Regarding the daily list of ski areas (below) --- we're at that stage where it's really complicated! Checking all the fine details each morning would seriously delay when the report appears and so now that ski areas are all at least part open the list has been simplified somewhat. We are keeping in information regarding major connections between ski areas (eg Yuzawa Kogen <> GALA <> Ishiuchi and the Dragondola between Kagura and Naeba).
If you plan to visit any of the ski areas, check with their official information to be sure about what exactly is planned to open each morning.
Forecasts are looking promising for good snowfall again Wednesday through next weekend. With a few more decent snowfalls, we can hope to ski areas getting to 'fully open' status. Easily the best status of them all!
Before then, tomorrow should be fine and sunny.
Update:
The Yuzawa Snow Link ticket that covers Yuzawa Kogen, GALA Yuzawa and Ishiucui Maruyama ski areas is on sale from today.
The Ropeway link between Yuzawa Kogen and GALA Yuzawa is definitely not yet open - a free shuttle bus is required to get between those two ski areas.
There's some conflicting information out there this morning regarding the ski lift that connects GALA Yuzawa and Ishiuchi Maruyama - the status of that lift is unclear.
We'll try to have a clearer picture on that tomorrow.
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GALA Yuzawa
Official snow depth (reported by ski area):
90cm
Notes:
The Central Area and Northern Area are both open
The Southern Area (and Ropeway connection with Yuzawa Kogen) is not yet open
The connection with Ishiuchi Maruyama is not yet open
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Ishiuchi Maruyama
Official snow depth (reported by ski area):
40cm
Notes:
The top connection with the Northern Area of GALA Yuzawa is not yet open
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Iwappara
Official snow depth (reported by ski area):
40cm
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Joetsu Kokusai
Official snow depth (reported by ski area):
70cm
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Kagura
Official snow depth:
Top: 140cm
Base: 90cm
Notes:
Both of the base areas (Mitsumata and Tashiro) are open
The Dragondola connection between Tashiro Area and Naeba is scheduled to be open
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Kandatsu Snow Resort
Official snow depth:
60cm
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Maiko Snow Resort
Official snow depth:
125cm
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Muikamachi Hakkaisan
Official snow depth:
Top: 120cm
Base: 60cm
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Naeba
Official snow depth:
Top: 90cm
Base: 60cm
Notes:
The Dragondola connection between Naeba and the Tashiro Area (Kagura) is open
----------------------------
NASPA Ski Garden
Official snow depth:
80cm
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Yuzawa Kogen
Official snow depth:
Top: 40cm
Base: 20cm
Notes:
The Ropeway connection with the Southern Area of GALA Yuzawa is not yet open
----------------------------
Yuzawa Nakazato Snow Resort
Official snow depth:
30cm
----------------------------
Yuzawa Park
Official snow depth:
30cm
Yuzawa Now2025-2026 season |
Data as of Sunday 28th December 2025 Total snowfall at base so far 156cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 10 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 45cm (on 27th December) November 2025 snowfall 12cm reported on 1 day December 2025 snowfall 144cm reported on 9 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.