A very different feel to this morning with clear blue skies and the sun shining brightly. Still remaining very cold though.

Pretty wild blizzard like conditions earlier on this morning.

There's 5cm or so of fresh snow to report this morning from Shiga Kogen... probably more in higher areas.

Yesterday drizzly sleet 'stuff' was falling in Shiga Kogen, but thankfully early this morning it has turned into something more like what you can call 'snow'.

The good news is that the rain turned into snow overnight and there has actually been some snow fall up here in Shiga Kogen.

Yesterday we saw a number of resort areas open up courses and get lifts moving.

I need to get myself to Nagano this morning on some urgent business.

I'm pleased to be able to report the first real decent snowfall of the season here in Shiga Kogen.

It is a cold morning and some snow is falling this morning - not a huge amount and it is likely to not last long with clearing conditions expected today.

Just a quick report this morning to let you know that Kumanoyu are open this morning, kicking off the ski season here in Shiga Kogen.

Some snowfall since yesterday, though not a huge amount... not enough to kick things into action this morning.

Welcome back to the Shiga Kogen Now reports for the 2015-2016 season.

As I write this report, the sun is out, it's warm, and more importantly the Shibutoge ski lift has another hour or so left to go and once that stops moving that is the official end of the ski season here in Shiga Kogen.

Golden Week is now over as most people go back to work today after the holidays, and we are now left with just a limited selection of areas open.