Zao Now: Saturday 29th April 2023
- Apr 29, 2023
- 2 min read
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata
New snowfall at base 0cm
Snowfall at base this season 418cm
Posted on Saturday 29th April 2023 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.
Hello on this first day of Golden Week.
After some whispers and opinions about whether the ski area could remain open through Golden Week, I have confirmed news... it can't. The snow melt has been too quick, and unfortunately, in what seems like a rather sudden announcement, it has been confirmed that today will be the last day of the 2022-2023 season.
Looking back at the season, 2022-2023 felt like a return to 'something-like-normal' after all of the major covid-related disruption of the previous several seasons. I don't know about visitor statistics, but there have definitely been many more people around this season - including a return of overseas visitors. That has been great to see.
The story of the snow/snowfall can be followed through the daily archive reports. This last spring section of the season has felt very long, with very little fresh snow once we got into March. I am reading about many ski areas closing earlier than planned this year, so it seems to be an all-Japan thing.
Hope you really enjoyed all that Zao has to offer if you visited.
Anyway, with the ski area closing today, this is the last Zao Now report of the season. The reports will return as the 2023-2024 winter season approaches in November. See you then. And thanks for reading.
Zao Now 2022-2023 season |
Data as of Saturday 29th April 2023 Total snowfall at base 418cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 66 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 30cm (on 24th December) November 2022 snowfall 0cm December 2022 snowfall 162cm observed on 23 days January 2023 snowfall 137cm observed on 24 days February 2023 snowfall 99cm observed on 15 days March 2023 snowfall 10cm observed on 3 days April 2023 snowfall 10cm observed 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 Zao Onsen. 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.