I come to you, humbly, apologetically.... OK, I missed yesterday's report--too many people to take care of, too much on his poor mind (oh, the life of a writer/skier).

Snow, snow, snow! We are definitely back to Myoko-style snowfalls. I measured 73cm on the trusty study plot boards this morning (trying to be more scientific, you know).

Ah, those dark clouds on the horizon yesterday did their job--we have some Myoko-style snow falling right now.

A sunny morning but dark clouds over Myoko; slightly warmer weather and the barometer a bit down... could this mean some snow is on the way? We believe so and hope so!

No new snow overnight; it's nice and cold; it's also sunny, at least for the moment, but snow does look likely for today.

A beautiful, sunny day today. A little bit of snow fell overnight, probably a little less than 10cm of light stuff.

The snow is again falling; nothing too heavy, it seems, but a nice, ongoing fall of beautiful flakes. yes, I'm feeling poetic on this last day before most of Japanese have to head back to the daily grind.

A sunny, beautiful day to follow the snow of the past few days. It's beginning to look a lot mor like Myoko these days; the roadside snow walls are growing, and the small trees are disappearing into the snowpack.

It's still snowing like mad, I'm still going out to play (and the snow thrower is even more on the fritz), but here is your timely report for Friday, January 4.

There are days when you will say, our correspondent is an irresponsible, lazy lout for not getting a report up in a timely fashion. And there are days when you will say, well, yeah, of course, I completely understand.

That great big snowstorm that triggered heavy snow warnings all across Niigata is... missing. Some very nice, light snow fell overnight, but less than 10cm of it (the resorts are reporting a bit more, and there may have been more snow up high).

Happy New (calendar) Year, and continuation of the ski season! Things really get going from now on.

The rain has indeed turned to snow--about 10cm by the backyard ruler. A big change in temperature over one day, too; yesterday's high was nearly 8C, where it's now around -2C.

The rain has arrived; a light misting in the early morning, getting a little heavier at the time of this report.